DHL Global Forwarding expands its rail network and service along the new silk road in response to growing demand for rail freight services between Europe and Asia. The air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, has opened three additional Rail Competence Centers in Europe and is introducing the fastest rail freight connection between China and Germany.
Located in Le Havre, France, Felixstowe, UK and Genoa, Italy, the local Rail Centers are staffed with China Rail Experts who advise customers and efficiently coordinate freight volumes. The new rail service, operating between Xi’an in China and Hamburg and Neuss in Germany, has been set up in cooperation with Xi’an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group Co. Ltd. and is cutting transit time from17 days to between 10 and 12 days.
“Rail freight products are attractive due to their cost-effectiveness, short transit time, and lower CO2 emissions compared to other transport modes. Moreover, they require our real operational expertise,” states Thomas Kowitzki, Head of China Rail, Multimodal Europe, DHL Global Forwarding.
Starting in Xi’an, the new rail service takes an approximate 9,400 km route through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania to Kaliningrad Oblast, a part of the Russian Federation on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, before entering the European Union via the Mamonovo-Braniewo crossing. The final stretch of the route crosses Poland into Germany to the port city of Hamburg, and to Neuss, an important logistics hub on the Rhine River opposite Düsseldorf.
This also shortens transit times for customers to other European countries e.g. Benelux, France and the UK. Traversing numerous countries, the fastest rail service between China and Germany was created with the support of China Railway, Belintertrans, RTSB Gmbh, and UTLC – Eurasian Rail Alliance.
The fast Xi’an-Germany rail connection will offer customers real-time milestone visibility, using GPS tracking of shipments via the iSee software platform to give shippers door-to-door visibility and insight into any shipping exceptions as soon as they occur.
