In addition to general sea freight and air freight ways, rail freight is a new way of transporting freight that is preferred by many people. Rail goods trains are a very efficient way of shipping from China to Europe, they are cheaper than air freight and take much less time to travel from China to Europe than sea freight. So if you are looking for a reliable and cost-effective way to get your goods from China to Europe, rail freight is the way to go.
The China rail freight to Europe is known as the Eurasian Continental Bridge. It is the longest railway line in the world, passing through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany before reaching its final destination
How much does it cost to transport a container by rail?
By train it will cost between US$ 7,000 and US$ 9,000. On the other hand, sea freight costs US$ 6,000 and air freight costs US$ 32,000. In the last few years, China rail freight has offered a cheaper alternative to China air freight , with faster transit times than sea freight.
What are the advantages of rail freight
- Competitive prices
- Reliable schedules
- Guaranteed delivery times
- More reliable and consistent transit times
How can containers be transported from China to Europe by rail?
A rail goods train can carry up to 40 x 40 foot full containers at a time, which means it can transport up to 8 million pounds of cargo at a time. That’s enough cargo to fit two fully loaded Boeing 747s!
Rail freight is also more environmentally friendly than road transport, as it produces less CO2 emissions per tonne kilometer transported.
Freight trains have a higher loading capacity than trucks, which allows them to carry heavier loads at a lower cost per tonne-kilometer transported.
China-Europe Railway Freight Line
The first Sino-European train was successfully launched in 2011, and since then Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Yiwu, Wuhan, Changsha, Harbin and other provinces and cities have been opened to major European countries: Duisburg, Germany, Hamburg, UK, Liege, Warsaw, Poland, Milan, Italy, Madrid, Spain, Tilburg, Netherlands, Lyon, France, Brest, Belarus.
The trains do not stop along the way and the route is from China to the EU train stations. The trains run directly from China to different destination train stations in the EU.
To cope with the difference in gauge between China and Europe, the train will have to stop twice at the borders of Kazakhstan and China and Belarus and Poland to reload the containers onto a new set of rail wagons, which normally takes less than 48 hours.
The transit time is factored into the departure date, so you can rest assured that your goods will arrive on time.
How long does it take to ship by rail from China to Europe
Rail freight is a very efficient way of transporting goods from China to Europe. Rail freight from China to Europe takes between 15 and 20 days, which is much faster than using other methods.
16 days for rail freight from China to Germany
Rail freight from China to Hungary 15 days
Rail freight from China to Poland 14 days
Rail freight from China to Spain 20 days
Rail freight from China to Austria 20 days
Rail freight from China to Hamburg 16 days
China to Belgium rail freight 16 days
Rail freight from China to France 18 days
Rail freight from China to Italy 18 days
Rail freight from China to Europe and the UK
Rail freight from China to Europe is often referred to as the Yiwu London goods train / China-European Banlin / Eurasian Railway Initiative under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, all referring to the same mode of transport: A Block Train caring 40 x 40HQ full container load (full container) direct from China to Europe with no stops in between. A China freight forwarder will help you to develop the most cost-effective rail transport solution
In recent years, due to the opening of the China-Europe train, which has significantly shortened the transport time between China and Europe, many companies have also started to put rail transport on their transport list. Besides air or sea freight being your main transport option, rail freight from China is also a good choice.