China’s China-Europe Railway Express had exceeded 130,000 trips by July 30, 2026, official Chinese reporting said, while India’s proposed links to Europe would rely on multimodal routes spanning several countries.
Xinhua said the latest official data put the value of goods carried above $520 billion. Annual trips grew from 1,702 in 2016 to 20,022 in 2025, according to Liang Linchong, an official at China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), as cited by Xinhua. The unified China Railway Express brand began in 2016.
China’s National Railway Administration reported that the service passed 10,000 trips in 2026 by June 10, a record for that point in the year. China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said its scheduled services are used for high-value freight; average value per container was 41% higher than on other trains.
Xinhua reported that Beijing’s first cross-Caspian freight service began on June 30, 2025. Its itinerary runs through Kazakhstan and includes a ferry crossing of the Caspian Sea before reaching Baku. Xinhua said the trip was expected to take about 15 days, down from about 50 days.
India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways described the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in 2023. Its sample route sends freight from Mumbai to Iran by sea, across Iran by road to Bandar-e-Anzali, then by vessel to Astrakhan for a rail journey through Russia toward Europe. India Ports Global Limited signed a 10-year contract on May 13, 2024, with Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization to equip and operate the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar.
The September 2023 memorandum for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) proposed a link from India to the Arabian Gulf, with another section continuing toward Europe. It envisions freight transfers between ships and a future railway, adding an option alongside existing sea and road links. India and Italy described IMEC discussions as preliminary in May 2026 and called for a first ministerial meeting that year to set concrete steps. Their declaration did not give a meeting date.
