DBO Bahnoperator & METRANS, along with PKP Cargo, and JSC UTLC ERA tested a new route for the China-Europe-China container trains as the New Silk Road continues to grow.

At the beginning of July, the first test train on the New Silk Road arrived after the 11-day journey from China to the Dzerzhinskaya-Novaya station, in the Kaliningrad Region.

Departing from the Hsinchu town in the Xi’an province, the train was loaded with 86 TEUs of clothing, shoes, consumer goods, electronic equipment, and auto parts destined for Europe. After the transfer of containers to a standard-gauge railway line in the local terminal, containers continued their journey to the German Hamburg and within METRANS network to several destinations in Germany.

The frequency of these trains is expected to grow to two trains a week if the demand is sufficient on this route. By using the transshipment terminal in the Kaliningrad area is offering an alternative to the ever more popular land goods transportation between Europe and China.

The Eurasian container traffic has reached a record volume in June 2020, exceeding 52,000 TEUs for the first time in history. The number has more than doubled compared to the same month one year ago, according to UTLC ERA. The half-year figures counted a total of 223,000 TEUs, recording a 65% increase compared to the same period of the previous year.

METRANS has vast experience in connections to the New Silk Road. Read our detailed presentation on METRANS and Belt & Road Initiative in our METRANS China Service presentation: