Multimodal Freight Connectivity: "South Asia Freight Trains" Linking Chinese cities to Nepal

China's overland freight connectivity to Nepal, opinions from Nepali traders in China and graph summary different "South Asia Freight Trans".

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Over the past few years, China has dramatically scaled up its overland freight links with Nepal by launching a series of rail-road combo services known as the “South Asia Freight Trains” (南亚班列 nányà bānliè). These trains depart from powerhouse cities like Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou, and Xining—industrial hubs far from the coast. Their journey winds through the vast Chinese heartland, climbs up the mighty Tibetan Plateau, and finally converges in Shigatse, Tibet. That’s where the rail gives way to road: goods are trucked overland through the Gyirong or Zhangmu border crossings into Nepal.

Shigatse has become the logistics nerve center for this trans-Himalayan trade route and a strategic gateway to South Asia.

As from the figure, The multiple train routes connecting Shigatse includes major cities Xining city from Qinghai Province, Lanzhou from Gansu Province, Chengdu and Chongqing city from Sichuan Province, Guangzhou, Shanghai. Picture source: Tibet Railway Maps. From Shigatse is where it is expected to connect to Kathmandu, Nepal through Trans-Himalaya Railway Network.