Belt and Road
News about rail between Europe and Asia
First uninterrupted rail freight journey from Baku to Europe
The first ever direct rail freight service to Europe via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad has been launched, as part of a new Xi’an-Prague rail connection. The block train runs along the Middle Corridor and is a...Read more
‘UK not serious about New Silk Road’
The UK is too distracted by European relations to take full advantage of overland trade opportunities. This was said by Henry Tillman, a London based Belt and Road specialist. “The British are currently failing to...Read more
RailFreight webinar: New Silk Road – bubble or here to stay?
The success of the New Silk Road should represent the actual market demand. This has been said by many who fear that the Eurasian corridor turns out as a noting more than a bubble. Can...Read more
The much debated truck vs train question resolved
Which is faster? The train or truck to China? The answer will depend on the perspective and hence, different parties have varying statements on the debated train versus truck question to China. The truth is,...Read more
Alibaba sends e-commerce goods to Belgian Liege by train
The New Silk Road has a new regular rail freight connection set up to serve the booming e-commerce industry. Since Wednesday, a train runs twice a week from Yiwu in China to the Belgian hub...Read more
Here comes the meat train from Belarus to China
Belarus intends to export meat to China by rail. The first train with reefer containers is expected to depart from Belarus in November. Belintertrans, a logistics subsidiary of Belarusian Railway, is negotiating with local meat...Read more
New Silk Road: thinking outside the state
The West misunderstands the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative. That is the view of award-winning professor Richard Griffiths of Leiden University in the Netherlands, also fellow of the International Institute for Asian Studies....Read more
Switzerland wants direct rail freight connection with China
A direct railway connection between Switzerland and China could be realised next year. Currently, trains run from Basel to China via the German hubs of Duisburg and Hamburg. However, a direct connection could benefit trade...Read more
Slovakia connects to China with new route via Ukraine
Metrans has launched a new regular rail freight service from the Chinese city of Xi’an to Dunajska Streda, near Bratislava in the west of Slovakia. The train runs via Dobra and firstly arrived in the...Read moreChinese subsidies for the New Silk Road on a decline
What has been anticipated for many months now seems to be happening. The Chinese subsidies for rail freight traffic to Europe are on a decline. The government has put in place ceilings on the local...Read more
From Atlantic to Pacific by rail and still fresh
The Eurasian railway corridor must be extended to the Norwegian port of Narvik, where it marks the final departure for long-haul transport to the US. It would make the Nordic Silk Road complete. This was...Read more
Europe poorly coordinated on New Silk Road
Europe is not coordinated enough to deal with the surging volumes of freight on the New Silk Road. That is the concern of the Group of European TransEurasia Operators and Forwarders (GETO). The group will...Read more
Logistics hub Venlo on the map in China
Venlo may be a known a logistics hotspot in the Netherlands, it is still a relatively unknown destination in China. A cooperation between three parties is to change this. Chinese companies should know that the...Read more
Belarus upgrades Brest intermodal terminal
Belarusian Railway has completed the modernisation of the intermodal terminal at Brest-Severny (Brest-North) railway station. The project was worth over 9 million Euros. It will allow to improve container handling on the east-west corridor, including...Read more
New Silk Road makes for new connection Chengdu-Wroclaw
A new railway line is launched on the New Silk Road, connecting the southern Polish city of Wroclaw to China. The new service facilitates container trains from Chengdu, in the capital of Sichuan province, to...Read more
Delivery time Japan-Europe will be reduced to 11-14 days
Russian Railways together with its partner FESCO intends to reduce the delivery time on the Japan-Europe multimodal route. The trial shipment of containers has been provided in 19 days. This figure could be reduced to...Read more