Seven Hai'an-ASEAN freight trains have departed from Hai'an, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, and headed for Vietnam since it resumed operations in April of this year. [Photo/CFP]

A China-Europe freight train loaded with textile products and machinery parts departed from the Shanghai Railway Administration's Hai'an railway logistics center and headed for Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on June 24.

It was the seventh China-Europe freight train to depart from the Hai'an railway logistics center since the Hai'an-ASEAN line resumed operations in April of this year.

Goods from Hai'an accounted for 40 percent of all goods transported via the seven Hai'an-ASEAN freight trains.

Jiangsu Lianfa Textile Co Ltd has exported 11 high cube containers of commodities through the Hai'an-ASEAN freight train this year. Compared with traditional sea transport, the China-Europe freight train is quicker and cheaper.

"Every year we have about 300 high cube containers of goods delivered to Vietnam. Pick-up, customs clearance, and delivery services in both Hai'an and Vietnam make the transportation process more efficient," said Yu Yongjun, general manager of Lifa.

"Based on the operating conditions in the early stages, we plan to increasingly use Hai'an-ASEAN trains to replace sea transportation and provide customers with better services," Yu added.

At the beginning of this year, the Hai'an municipal Party committee and government proposed normalizing the cross-border train from Hai'an to ASEAN within the year. Focusing on this goal, the Hai'an railway logistics center of the Shanghai Railway Administration has restarted the organization of cross-border trains.

With support from multiple parties, it has been able to overcome extreme shortages of containers and the impact of COVID-19 in Vietnam. Seven cross-border freight trains have been operated over the past two months.

An increasing number of Hai'an companies hope to transport their goods via the China-Europe freight train.