Gefco’s new train route ties Chinese ports to Central, Eastern Europe
May-27-2014 By : agxadmin
Gefco Group, the international arm of the Russian Railways specializing in automotive and industrial goods logistics, is launching a new door-to-door route between China and Europe. The new service allows overland cargo and ocean freight collected at China’s major ports to be delivered via Alataw Pass or Manzhouli, in China’s Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, to such countries as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Germany and Hungary. Christophe Poitrineau, Gefco’s Asia President, said that since rail service tends to be more expensive than sea freight, the company is working on solutions for better back-flow transportation, so costs can be lowered. “Now, it is often a one-way operation from China to Europe, and when the train returns, it is often empty. There is work to be done on both sides – the work of unifying one custom system along the Eurasian line,” Poitrineau said. Although there are regular block trains from Chongqing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Yiwu to both Europe and Central Asia, most haven’t been able to operate bi-directional services yet. As trade accelerates, Poitrineau said more products from Europe will be transported to China using rail routes in the coming years. Gefco is considering to invest in warehouse facilities in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ). Automotive logistics is Gefco’s key market in China. Gefco has established two joint ventures that serve Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen Automobile (DPCA) and Changan PSA Automobiles. It also opened a new branch in Chengdu in 2013. Headquartered in Courbevoie, France, Gefco’s global revenue hit €4 billion in 2013, and revenue from its China operation totaled €100 million the same year. Gefco will set up new branches in Ningbo and Dalian in 2014 to enhance its ocean transport capabilities. It also sees possibilities in establishing branches in Kunming and Urumqi, the China Daily reports.
Cities building rail links to Europe
By : agxadmin
As China builds a new Silk Road economic belt, more than a half-dozen cities are competing for goods and investment from multinationals to boost rail operations to Europe. With shorter transport times and lower freight costs, international rail lines linking western and central China to Europe have helped improve regional connectivity and trade. Since 2010, major Chinese cities, including Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, Zhengzhou and Wuhan have all launched weekly or monthly modern block train services to different European destinations, as part of China’s efforts to turn its inland resource and labor-rich cities into international trade hubs. Chengdu expects a two-way express rail service with Lodz, Poland, to begin in the second half of 2014, Chen Zhongwei, Director of the Chengdu Logistics Office, said. The route opened in April 2013. Chinese cargos to Europe mostly consist of industrial yarn, automobile parts, new materials, IT goods, electronic and garment products, as well as daily necessities. Chinese trains usually return empty, driving up the costs. Transcontinental rail operators in Chongqing and Zhengzhou are also improving transport options to domestic and European clients – such as online booking, free short-term warehouse storage and services for loads measuring less than a container. Sales offices in Warsaw, the German city of Duisburg, Shanghai and Hangzhou are planned to attract manufacturers from different industries. A temperature-controlled freight cargo service on the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe route is planned to gain more market share in handling temperature-sensitive products such as Dutch dairy goods, German vaccines and chemical products. Coastal cities such as Guangzhou, Lianyungang and Suzhou also plan to fully open new rail routes to Europe, the China Daily reports.
Xian develops as an international cargo hub
By : agxadmin
Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, is expected to develop as an international cargo hub serving China, Central Asia and Europe, after a cooperation agreement was signed by the Xian International Trade and Logistics (ITL) Park and Kazakhstan’s National Railway Co. The agreement, which was signed on April 14 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, aims to develop international logistics between China and Kazakhstan, said Yang Mingrui, Director of ITL’s Administration Committee. A trade delegation, led by Han Song, Deputy Mayor of Xian and Party Secretary of ITL, visited Central Asian countries in April to investigate and signed the agreement with Kazakhstan’s national railway company. Under the agreement, Kazakhstan is expected to establish a new railway express company to organize and coordinate the transport of goods from China to Kazakhstan and the transit of cargo across Kazakhstan, including goods sent from ITL. “Every month, two container trains will be sent from ITL to Kazakhstan and the goods will be distributed in Kazakhstan to other Central Asian countries. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s railway express company will make ITL its cargo distribution hub for its international logistics business,” Yang said. ITL intends to build a special economic zone industrial park in Horgos, a border city in Xinjiang next to Kazakhstan. A logistics pier in the park will distribute goods from China’s inland regions to Central Asia, Russia and Europe, Yang added. The Chang’an train was the first international cargo train to run from Xi’an to Kazakhstan and started operating on November 28, 2013. It was also the first freight train to run directly from inland Shaanxi province to Central Asian countries. China Railway Corp plans to form an express railway route from China to Europe. The Chang’an freight train will follow one main route and two branch routes. The main 9,850 km route was designed to link Xian with Rotterdam. One of the branch routes will run from Xian to Kazakhstan and the other from Xian to Moscow. To date the Chang’an international freight trains have run seven times. In April, the trains ran twice with 104 carriages, the China Daily reports.
Facts and figures about new Silk Road rail
Apr-30-2014 By : agxadmin
The train service between Chongqing and Duisburg in Germany is twice as fast as transport on the sea route and only half as expensive as air freight. Therefore, the train connection, which the Chinese are already describing as the new Silk Road, has improved trade between China and Germany.
- Total length of 11,179 km.
- Going through six countries in about 16 days: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany.
- The first coordination meeting was held in Chongqing in November 2010.
- The first train on the railway to travel to Moscow arrived on Jan 28, 2011.
- The first train on the railway to travel to Duisburg, Germany, arrived on March 19, 2011.
- Regular train services on the railway started on June 30, 2011.
- The first return train on the railway left Duisbrug for China on February 28, 2013. It passed through Poland, Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan before arriving at in Chongqing.
- The first train on the railway not limited to carrying only IT products ran on April 8, 2014. It can carry all products to be exported to countries along the line and will transport products from regions around Chongqing to Europe.
- From the first train, which ran on January 28, 2011, to January 24, 2014, the railway has seen a total of 96 runs. During this time the trains transported 8,434 containers of exports worth USD3 billion, according to the Chongqing logistics office.
- The transcontinental railway between China and Germany is the first train connection between the two countries.
- Since it opened, the number of weekly departures has risen to three.
- Goods transported along the route include electronics, cars and medical equipment.
- One of the challenges will be to further increase the degree of capacity utilization of the train from Duisburg to Chongqing.
Rail and road links to be integrated
Mar-27-2014 By : agxadmin
An integrated transportation network will get a major boost in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area this year as regional authorities seek to improve coordination. Transportation links connecting Hebei to Beijing and Tianjin are expected to improve this year. A freeway connecting Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, to Tianjin is under construction. Freeways and high-speed rail links will cut transportation time between Hebei and Beijing or Tianjin to about an hour. “The high-speed railway between Shijiazhuang and Tianjin will be completed in 2015,” said Hebei Governor Zhang Qingwei. Construction is to start on a high-speed railway connecting Beijing and cities in northern Hebei such as Chengde and Zhangjiakou.
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