China-made 12 locomotives and 80 coaches have reached Havana, capital of Cuba after one month's voyage.

On Jan. 14 local time, Cuban president Fidel Castro welcomed and inspected the locomotives at Havana railway station.

"It's really wonderful"

Greatly interested, Castro got on a brand new train. He touched the clean seats and sat down with a smile. "Wonderful, it's really wonderful," said the Cuban leader, and he also asked his entourage to have a try.

Later, Castro left the railway station with satisfaction. Upon his leaving, he wished smooth and safe operation of the trains.

Cuba needs China-made train

China and Cuba signed the contract of exportation to Cuba during Chinese President Hu Jintao's official visit to the country in November 2004.

Chinese engineers and designers came all the way to Cuba to investigate the local railway system and made revision to the original design.

The locomotives, Dongfeng 7G, are of 2,500 horsepower with a peak speed of 120km per hour.

Also arrived were 80 Yutong coaches as part of a 1,000-coach deal with a total value of 100 million US dollars. Currently there are 200 China-made buses running across Cuban cities.

Chinese trains exported to Cuba for the first time

Many Cubans got excited when hearing the arrival of Chinese trains. Locals made phone calls to railway station for information on operation time and ticket price. Official with Cuban railway system announced that they had no intention to raise the ticket price so far.

As for China, it is the first batch of trains exported to Cuba and even Latin America. None of Asian countries has ever exported new trains to Cuba before.

Cuban government has set improving its traffic on top agenda this year, which means huge opportunities for China. China, Cuba's fourth largest trading partner in 2004, jumped to the second place in 2005, only next to Venezuela.

By People's Daily Online