THE first container train from China to UK has arrived at the Barking's Eurohub freight terminal in London after an 18-day journey over 12,000km from Yiwu in eastern China.

The train is operated by the InterRail Group, a multinational transport operator headquartered in Switzerland, on behalf of China Railway subsidiary CRIMT (China Railway International Multimodal Transport) and DB Cargo was responsible for the last leg of the journey, from Duisburg to London.

The silk road trading road is not yet reborn, though, since this journey is just a test trip run as part of China President Xi Jinping's 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR) trade policy.

The Chinese government is promoting rail cargo as a means to reduce air pollution, moving away from the more polluting air transport.

Following British Prime Minister Theresa May's comments earlier in the week on the UK's path towards Brexit and her intentions to strengthen trade with India and China, the China-UK route could prove to be a useful tool, according to media reports.