This page lists the westbound trains EW TRANS actually books. It is not a map of every China-Europe train, and it does not state kilometres. Timetable trains and conventional trains keep their own day ranges.
A box loads at a Chinese terminal and leaves through Alashankou, Khorgos, Manzhouli or Erenhot. The western borders enter Kazakhstan, then Russia and Belarus, and reach European standard gauge around Malaszewicze in Poland. Manzhouli enters Russia directly. Erenhot crosses Mongolia before Russia. The day count changes with the border.
| Corridor | Border | After the border |
|---|---|---|
| West | Alashankou, Khorgos | Kazakhstan, then Russia and Belarus, then Poland and beyond |
| East | Manzhouli | West across the Russian network |
| Middle | Erenhot | Mongolia, then Russia |
China is 1,435 mm. Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and Belarus are 1,520 mm. The EU is standard gauge again. A box to Europe changes gauge at least twice. A box that stops in Russia, on the China to Russia page, changes once.
These four run to a fixed terminal, route, train, time and price. Do not collapse them into “14 days”.
| Origin | Station | Indicative transit |
|---|---|---|
| Xi'an | Duisburg, Germany | 16–18 days |
| Xi'an | Budapest, Hungary | 18–20 days |
| Xi'an | Prague, Czechia | 18–20 days |
| Zhengzhou | Hamburg, Germany | 14–16 days |
Together they span 14–20 days. A booking quotes the train that has space, not the shortest day in the span.
| Lane | Country | Indicative transit |
|---|---|---|
| Xi'an → Malaszewicze | Poland | about 12–15 days |
| Chengdu → Łódź | Poland | about 12–16 days |
| Zhengzhou → Munich | Germany | about 16–20 days |
| Xi'an → Milan | Italy | about 18–22 days |
| Zhengzhou → Liège | Belgium | about 18–22 days |
| Yiwu → Madrid | Spain | about 18–22 days |
| Xi'an → Belgrade | Serbia | about 18–23 days |
The conventional set sits around 12–22 days. Cities off the table are trucked from the nearest station. Those days are not folded into the rail range.
Moscow FCL is 18–25 days on the China-Russia trains, not on the European stations above.
Baku is 20–25 days and Tbilisi or Poti is 27–32 days, by Caspian ferry, with no Russia transit. See the Trans-Caspian corridor.
Tehran is 28–35 days. Only Aktau–Anzali uses a ferry. Sarakhs and Incheh Borun stay on rail. See is there a railway from China to Iran.
Eastbound trains are a separate table: Europe to China. Do not reverse the westbound days.
We book 4 timetable trains and 7 conventional trains westbound. China runs more than that. This page draws only the ones we can book.
Timetable trains start in Xi'an or Zhengzhou and end in Duisburg, Budapest, Prague or Hamburg. Conventional trains add Milan, Malaszewicze, Munich, Liège, Madrid, Łódź and Belgrade. Chengdu and Yiwu are also loading points.
The western border usually means Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, then Poland. The eastern border enters Russia. The middle border crosses Mongolia first. The booking names the countries for that departure.
Changing the border changes the distance. We compare border, lifts and the days on that week’s plan.