A double-deck container train carrying 56 twenty-foot equivalent units sets off from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to Shaoxing on Dec 18. [Photo/wifizs.cn]

A cargo train route for double-deck trains has been launched between Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, with the first train carrying 56 twenty-foot equivalent units setting off from the port to Shaoxing on Dec 18. 

This is the first double-deck container train ever seen in China, which can hold 30 percent more cargo than the normal single-deck train and thus significantly reduce the logistics costs. 

Such trains previously were only seen in a few countries due to the high requirement on train routes, such as the height of the tunnels being high enough.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port significantly reconstructed the route before operating the first double-deck train. 

Cargo from Shaoxing is mainly for export, with the goods including fabric, polyester and gauze, which are stored mainly in large and high containers weighing 25 metric tons.

The new route will help increase the rail freight efficiency between Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and Shaoxing, lower the cargo transportation costs for Shaoxing and its neighboring areas and boost the regional economy.