Russia and China have opened traffic on the first ever railway bridge over the Amur River

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced the launch of traffic on the first-ever railway bridge over the Amur River on the interstate border near the settlements of Nizhneleninskoye of the Jewish Autonomous Region and Tongjiang of Heilongjiang Province of the People's Republic of China.

As part of the launch of the movement, the first train made the transition from Russia to China.
The construction of the bridge was implemented within the framework of an agreement concluded between the Governments of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China in 2008. The Russian Direct Investment Fund together with Chinese partners has financed more than 70% of the total budget for the construction of the Russian part of the bridge. The investors of the project were also the State Development Corporation "VEB. RF" and Russian Railways, follows from the message of the RFPI.
The bridge part of the railway crossing "Nizhneleninskoe - Tongjiang" has a length of 2.2 km. The bridge is designed for alternate passage of trains along the track of two standards with a width of 1520 mm (Russia) and 1435 mm (China). The maximum capacity of the bridge crossing will be up to 20 million tons of cargo per year, writes TASS.
"The launch of traffic on the bridge opens a new transport corridor between Russia and China, which removes a number of existing infrastructure restrictions. The distance of cargo transportation to the northern provinces of China will be reduced by more than 700 km compared to existing routes," the RDIF noted.
Unlocking the potential of Russian-Chinese cooperation is impossible without the development of transport and logistics infrastructure. China is Russia's largest trade and economic partner, the trade turnover between the two countries is showing steady growth and has already exceeded the $150 billion mark this year, commented Kirill Dmitriev, head of the RDIF.
"The first-ever railway bridge crossing over the Amur River is one of the largest cross-border projects for Russia and China and a significant infrastructure project implemented by the RDIF. Its opening will increase the competitiveness of Russian and Chinese enterprises, provide a reliable and predictable schedule for the movement of goods and cargo, affordable raw materials and energy resources, as well as increase the capacity of railway routes between Russia and China by 1.5 times. In addition, the opening of traffic on the bridge stimulates the development of related infrastructure, the creation of new logistics chains and the attraction of additional investments in related industries. The intensification of economic ties between the border territories of our countries will have a positive impact on the lives of more than 40 million people," he explained.