BEIJING: A slow train traveling in China's mountainous areas for nearly 20 years has helped many farmers from Huaihua of Hunan live a better life by carrying them to urban areas to sell agricultural produce, CCTV News reported.
The train No 7272, running between Huaihua and Meijiang town of Chongqing, covers 178 kilometers with an average speed of 40 km per hour. With the highest fare costing 22.5 yuan ($3.08), the train stops at over 10 stations including Tongren in Guizhou province.
Tongren opened a market near its train station three years ago to better facilitate farmers selling their produce. Meanwhile, the train also increased carriages from two to eight and removed some seats to free up more space for the group to put their baskets.
Train workers also help the farmers promote their business through live-streaming in carriages. Their assistance helped generate sales of agricultural products amounting to roughly 11.8 million yuan (US$1.62 million) last year.
"I've been taking the train for about 15 or 16 years. Thanks to it, my vegetables are always sold out. With the increased earnings from this, I was able to upgrade my mud-brick house to a villa," Liu Changhe, a farmer, said. - China Daily/ANN
