A container loaded with highway adhesive tape has departed from Zhengzhou aboard a China-Europe freight train, traveling along the rail trunk line directly to the Port of St. Petersburg in Russia, where it was transferred to a maritime feeder service. After transshipping through the Rotterdam hub, the cargo ultimately reached Duisburg, Germany. This successful shipment marks the completion of the first full-cargo test for the "Zhengzhou-St. Petersburg-Duisburg" rail-sea intermodal corridor operated by Henan's China-Europe freight train network, introducing a more resilient "flexible supply line" to the Eurasian supply chain.

Once fully operational, this new route will complement the existing all-rail service, the Trans-Caspian southern corridor, and deep-sea shipping, creating a "four-dimensional mutually supportive" transport framework. This structure is designed to reduce dependence on any single primary corridor and further strengthen the security and stability of international supply chains. The corridor capitalizes on the Port of St. Petersburg's strategic advantage in "rail-to-port collection and maritime transshipment," establishing a fresh pathway that connects the Eurasian hinterland via Russia's Baltic coast directly to Western European seaports.

For special cargo categories, this corridor offers a market-driven alternative transport solution. Businesses can flexibly select the optimal rail-sea combination based on their cargo's specific characteristics, thereby unlocking additional trade potential between Central and Western Europe. The new "Zhengzhou-St. Petersburg-Duisburg" intermodal corridor is expected to accelerate the transformation of China-Europe freight train services from single-mode rail operators into integrated "land-sea" multimodal logistics providers. It will also facilitate the deep integration of inland dry ports into the global maritime network, enhance their transshipment and distribution capabilities, and inject fresh momentum into Henan's inland opening-up strategy.