“Rail is always a sensible option when sea freight is too slow and air freight too expensive,” says Thomas Krüger, Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics EMEA at Dachser. For example, shipping by rail between Asia and Europe takes just 16 to 22 days, whereas sea freight takes somewhere between 28 and 36 days. And as for greenhouse gas emissions, rail transport emits up to 90 percent less CO₂ than shipping by air.

Using its tightly knit European network of 363 locations plus 68 partner locations, Dachser organizes overland transportation of LCL and FCL packages from 37 European countries. It consolidates them at four centrally located rail terminals—Duisburg and Hamburg, Warsaw, and Vienna/Bratislava—loads them safely and securely into containers, and hands them off to the rail operators. Then the containers embark on a nearly 11,000 kilometer journey. The trains take one of two routes: the southern corridor, or “New Silk Road,” winds through Belarus and Russia before crossing Kazakhstan to arrive in China. The second route is the north corridor, or trans-Siberian route. After passing through Belarus and Siberia, it turns south, heading down through northeast China before arriving at the country’s commercial centers.

At the destination railway station in rural China, Dachser handles customs clearance and arranges for onward transport in China and Asia via its own Air & Sea Logistics network or partners. The company has 49 offices in eleven countries in the Asia Pacific region. Dachser Rail Services are naturally offered for both directions: for LCL and FCL shipments to China, but also from China to Europe. Rail Service Desks are available in Shanghai, Shenzen, and Hamburg exclusively for Dachser customers to make bookings. Firm transit times, seamless shipment tracking upon request, and a high frequency of departures throughout the week help ensure transparency and aid in planning.