DHL establishes rail freight service between China and Germany

DHL Global Forwarding has launched three Rail Competence Centres in Europe and is offering the fastest rail freight connection between Germany and China.

The new rail service, operating between Xian in China and Hamburg and Neuss in Germany, has been established in collaboration with Xian International Inland Port Investment Development Group Co. Ltd. and is reducing the transit time from 17 days to 10-12 days.

"We've seen a substantial increase in rail freight volumes along the˜New Silk Road" from China to Europe and vice versa, states Thomas Kowitzki, Head of China Rail, Multimodal Europe, DHL Global Forwarding. He also declared that the 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 the real operational expertise that we bring to the table. We are happy to further expand our European Rail presence with a focus on rail transport in the DHL network. With our growing number of dedicated Country Rail Competence Centers and cutting-edge rail services, we are offering the right portfolio of transport expertise and solutions for our customers while their business between Europe and Asia continues to grow"

Dedicated local teams

The Rail Competence Centers already organise a notable volume of export and import, including less-than-container-load (LCL) DHL RailConnect and full-container-load (FCL) DHL RailLine products. Regarding the freight administration, committed teams offer broad customer service. They organise end-to-end transport processes from collection to delivery by truck or combined rail transport to the final destination. Customers can track the shipment, and also they can request temperature information. 

Routes and transit time 

The new rail service follows 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. Crossing 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 Xian-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.

DHL Global Forwarding recently opened two Rail Competence Centers in Le Havre, France and Felixstowe, the UK in response to growing demand for rail freight services along the New Silk Road, and to complement its existing Rail Competence Centers, including four in China.

Source: Post&Parcel