13 September 2016

From China to Europe by rail

Have you ever considered to transport goods via rail? A relatively new service in our range of existing services is the rail transport from China to Europe, also known as the new silk road.

The possibilities of rail transport have increased enormously over the past few years, both in frequency and reliability. For instance, Mainfreight offers several options a week for freight transport throughout China.

Groupage by rail

An interesting development is that, besides the transport of full containers (FCL), we are now also able to offer groupage (LCL) by rail. LCL rail transport is interesting as an alternative to air freight, as a serious saving can be made on freight costs for less time-critical shipments. The average transit time for transport by rail is around 15 to 17 days, depending on the pick-up address and the destination in Europe.

Advantages of rail service

Thanks to short lead times and reliable connections, this rail service is able to offer customers advantages such as:

• An average reduction of 50% in the lead time compared to shipping by ocean freight;
• An average of 50% on freight costs compared to air freight;
• Less CO2 emissions and as a result less environmental impact.

Would you like to know more about our rail service? Please contact our local team in Europe for further information.