TRIESTE — A block train service for facilitating transportation of products from Chinese home appliances manufacturer Hisense was launched from the port of Trieste, northeast Italy, on June 27.

Operated by China's COSCO SHIPPING, the first train on the new line set off from Trieste. The train, loaded with 32 containers, is scheduled to arrive on June 28 in Velenje, Slovenia, the seat of the European headquarters of Hisense.

The freight train service is part of the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, which combines sea and land transportation, and stretches from the Greek port city of Piraeus to the hinterland of Europe.

At the launch ceremony of the Hisense train in Trieste, Executive Vice President of COSCO SHIPPING Lin Ji said that in the future, "the electrical products produced by Hisense in Velenje will also be transported to Trieste by the block train, loaded on container vessels of COSCO SHIPPING," and shipped to other destinations in Europe and beyond.

Noting that Trieste Maritime Terminal "represents the gateway to Central and Eastern Europe," Stefano Selvatici, managing director of the terminal, said he is "confident that this new rail connection will represent a crucial milestone able to innovate a traditional logistic system into a more performing and suitable one."

Massimiliano Fedriga, president of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia autonomous region where Trieste is situated, thanked COSCO SHIPPING and Hisense for recognizing the potential of the port of Trieste, adding that he hopes opportunities for commercial collaborations will continue to grow.

Trieste is the fourth channel to be opened on the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line in Europe, after the main channel of Piraeus Port, the channel of Rijeka in Croatia, and the Valencia-Madrid-Bilbao channel in Spain, according to COSCO SHIPPING.