Rail freight transport between China and Europe
Rail freight from China throughout Europe
In recent years, China Railway has shipped freight through the famous Silk Road railway that connects 12,000 kilometers of track via the Trans-Siberian Railway.
An exciting project has just been set up: the first train from Yiwu to London (Barking in East London). He left on the 1st of January and arrived at destination on the 18th of January, which represents an average transit time of 18 days to get to London, more than the 15 days to get to Lyon. As a reminder, keep in mind that a container needs at least 30 days to reach the French ports.
This new service which is offered both for importers and exporters allows to ship to and from China in a fast and cost-effective way.
Apart from London, here are some other European routes / transit times
There are two key rail links / routes: the first one starts in the north of China and connects with the famous Trans-Siberian (Russia), the second goes west through Kazakhstan before catching up with the Trans-Siberian Railway in Yekaterinburg, which is a key junction for rail freight in the Western part. In addition, these routes provide logistics solutions for the shipment of oversized objects (also called Project Cargo).
Here are some examples:
- China – Warsaw (Poland): ~ 12 days
- China – Hamburg (Germany): ~ 14 days
- China – London (United Kingdom): 16 ~ 18 days
- China – Moscow (Russia): ~ 12 days
Rail freight comes with 3 main advantages :
1) Time and Cost Savings
The cost of rail freight from/to China is potentially 50% cheaper than air cargo for the same trip. The transit time is 45% to 50% shorter, as compared to sea freight transport.
2) Quicker customs procedures
Customs declaration and inspection can be proceeded much more quickly than in the case of air or traditional sea freight. This customs service is available in the form of a full service 24/7, handled by our team present in China.
3) Flexible and multiple services
A wide variety of goods is accepted for transportation and the services offered include: door-to-door deliveries, FCL and LCL, classic and dangerous goods.
Not a boat, not an airplane, but a train. The first freight train from China to the United Kingdom is now running. This new route of silk used by the intercontinental train is a new means of transport between the two continents and offers many advantages.
The main benefits of this option is its short delivery time and obviously the lower costs it offers. Indeed, the delays provided by rail freight are way shorter than sea freight and less expensive than air transport.
China-France Railway Freight：An alternative to air and sea freight
In recent years, the rail link between France and China has become a wise choice for customers concerned about delays and costs. As China’s economic power keeps on increasing, some French companies have decided to implement their production facilities there, benefiting from the booming Chinese market – this is why there is a high demand for railway freight.
Railway Freight is a perfect option for customers who need to deliver components and industrial products from France, Switzerland or Belgium to China, and vice versa. In addition, the two railways present on the Eurasian Land Bridge serve destinations in Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
The continued expansion of the rail network in China and the further simplification of customs procedures reinforce the importance of a direct rail link, as trade between Europe and China is growing.
Characteristics of railway freight
- Routes from China – Europe, China – Russia, as well as Germany – Japan and Germany – South Korea via Zhengzhou are operated in both direction
- So the cost of rail transportation is 50% lower than air freight and the transit time is 50% shorter than ocean freight
- The shipping cost for EXW to DDU China – Germany (Europe) and small LCL (1-4cbm) are more or less the same as sea freight
- Customs clearance is available 24/7!
- Door to door service & distribution network in Europe and China
- Container types: 20’GP, 20’HQ, 40’GP, 40’HQ, 45’GP, 45 ‘refrigerated container, clothing suspension container, open container
- To safe, stable, non-stop, fast
Currently, four weekly container train services from Duisburg and three weekly services from Hamburg serve China, in addition to the regular services from Wackersdorf and Leipzig-Wahren.
The new service from Duisburg crosses Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan to the Chinese city of Chongqing, one of the largest industrial centers in the country located in Sichuan Province, offering excellent connections.
Freight trains cover a huge distance of 12,200 kilometers in 16 to 20 days, while traditional wagon trains take between 22 and 25 days to arrive at the final destination.
The train carries up to 100 TEUs (20 foot equivalent unit) and can carry 40-foot GPHC containers as well as standard PWHC containers. All containers are equipped with a GPS tracking system and an alarm function.
Delivery of parcels
We can consider the distance of the trip as a new silk road, made up of 10 200 km of rail. This is the distance travelled by your packages when shipped from Chengdu ,China to Lodz, Poland.
About 4 different shipping companies will be involved in the transportation of your parcel. Operators from China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Germany will be part of it. Getting the vehicles ready to transport the containers, as well as loading and unloading processes can be quite long.
Therefore, it is normal to experience potential delays, as a large number of factors and actors are involved in the logistics chain.
Generally speaking, rail freight takes 2 to 3 weeks to reach its destination. Often, railway transportation requires changing wagons, for example when entering the Russian territory, as there are different types of rails according to the countries.
The main advantage of this rail freight is that it comes with a full security of your parcels. In fact, once loaded, they are sealed and are not opened until arrival at the final sorting center.
However, a delay can quickly happen if one of the trains encounters a problem on the way, if there are too many orders for the same destination. If a parcel is damaged or source of problems, it will obviously cause a delay on the other parcels.
China, a historical trading power
For centuries, the legendary trade route of the ancient capital Xi’An made it possible to connect the biggest markets of that time, such as Istanbul and Venice. Thanks to these international trade links, China was already one of the biggest global player on the market.
Since then, the country is still building on that record. In the 21st century, China has become the world’s largest exporter, accounting for $ 2.28 trillion (£ 1.85 trillion) in 2015.
The business generated by the country is crucial for the global economy. However, these strong economic activities are not possible without reliable and efficient logistics services.
New freight train from China to London
Not a boat, not an airplane, but a train. The first freight train from China to the United Kingdom is now running. This new route of silk used by the intercontinental train is a new means of transport between the two continents and offers many advantages.
The main benefits of this option is its short delivery time and obviously the lower costs it offers. Indeed, the delays provided by rail freight are way shorter than sea freight and less expensive than air transport.
Which route?
By connecting two continents, the new intercontinental train crosses several countries and uses a specific route.
In total, the railway covers 11,300 kilometers and crosses Germany, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan and China. This route regards transportation from England to China only.
The first stop is in Yiwu, east of China, and the last stop is in London. The whole trip lasts two weeks and to get to England, the train always crosses the same countries: Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France …
Why Train freight transportation is becoming a must in terms of Freight from China To Europe ?
Railway transportation capacity is strong, suitable for centralized transportation of bulk materials and the scale of railway transportation is economical and the unit transportation cost is low. It’s also environmental friendly with less pollution.
Before China Europe train was born, China has been exporting and importing shipment from/to Central Asia and Mongolia by rail freight by using container, different type of wagon or even rail platform since long time ago, there are 2 major port : Qingdao and Tianjin are traditional port for multi-modal transportation where Asia cargo use this route with destined to Central Asia (such as Almaty, Tashkent…etc), and Mongolia via these 2 ports.
After China Europe train was born and getting more popular, reliable with stable schedule is the most significant benefit why customers choose railway as their primary method for their cargo. With direct train service from China to Europe, vice versa. Customers has no longer to wait few days at transit hub, with potential risk for cargo damage when reloading goods,
Customers have been changed shipping habit and no longer to use sea-air service, China Europe train service become a must option in modern logistics solution, besides sea freight and air freight.
China Europe train is not just design for exporting/importing cargo from/to China, but also an essential option for cargo origin from Asia cities with destined to Europe, it’s faster transit time while shipping line are more going to slow steaming program.
Is there a departure schedule everyday ?
Currently there are more than 15 main China cities (such as Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hefei, Changsha, Yiwu, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xian, Shenyang, Harbin……etc) have rail freight connection with arrival more than 16 main cities in Europe. Cities(photo as below)
Trains in China and Russia run an average of 800-1100 kilometers a day, compared with 250-400 kilometers in Europe. The number of containers per train varies from 41 in China. Train will be reloading 2 times in China Border and Belarus border during whole journal because of different gauge, but it’s low risk than others, because railway require high standard in terms of container loading mechanism, cargo weight, loading sequence…which is more strict than other transportation. This is one of reason high value product like Electronic components, mechanical and electrical products, high fashion clothing are the main commodity catalogues in China Europe train.
China is planning about 20 other rail routes for the transportation of goods. With the growing global demand for consumer goods, all the parameters seem to be in place to help the global economy take advantage of these new international transport infrastructures.
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