China – Europe Cargo Rail Services
From the Guardian:
The longest rail link in the world and the first direct link between China and Spain is up and running after a train from Yiwu in coastal China completed its maiden journey of 8,111 miles to Madrid.
The railway has been dubbed the “21st-century Silk Road” by Li Qiang, the governor of Zhejiang province, where Yiwu is located. Its route is longer than the Trans-Siberian railway and the Orient Express.
A major advantage of the rail route is speed. The train took just three weeks to complete a journey that takes up to six weeks by sea. It is also more environmentally friendly than road transport, which would produce 114 tonnes of CO2 to shift the same volume of goods, compared with the 44 tonnes produced by the train – a 62% reduction.
From Asiaone:
The train set off from China to Spain on Nov 18 carrying 82 containers loaded with stationery, craft items and products for the Christmas market, and arrived in Madrid 21 days later.
It returned to Yiwu on Sunday after a 24-day journey from Spain carrying 64 containers packed with wine, olive oil and other Spanish products.
This China – Europe Rail Service is getting the attention of shippers.
From JOC:
For a cost comparison – Chargeable weight in a 40 ft. container is 9,600kg. The prices:
- For rail – $8000 per FEU
- For ocean freight – $3000 per FEU
- For air freight – $3.85 per kg would cost $37,000
Shippers / Customers want to use rail as an alternative to air (five times more than rail) and though ocean is cheaper it takes longer and is less reliable.
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