WUHAN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province on Wednesday inaugurated its second freight terminal for China-Europe (Central Asia) freight train services, with a cargo train loaded with auto parts departing from Xianglushan Station, bound for Kazakhstan.

The newly operational station in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, enables direct customs clearance without transshipment, cutting transport times by about two days and reducing logistics costs by 15 percent compared to previous routes.

Xianglushan Station serves as a critical junction linking intermodal rail-water terminals. Previously, export goods assembled in Wuhan and transported via the Yangtze River had to be transferred to the province's sole freight hub at Wujiashan Station for Europe-bound (Central Asia) trains.

Hubei is leveraging its strategic location to rebuild a modern transport network connecting waterways, railways, highways, airways and digital channels.

In the first half of this year, the province recorded foreign trade of 402.31 billion yuan (about 56.34 billion U.S. dollars), which was up 28.4 percent year on year. ■