Rail transport from China is developing rapidly and is an increasingly popular alternative to maritime transport. It is not surprising – after all, the advantages of rail freight are many: they include even shorter delivery times, greater safety or less harmfulness to the environment. Why is it worth deciding on rail transport from China to Poland?
Rail transport from China to Poland – basic facts
The development of rail transport from China to Europe and from Europe to China is associated with the idea of the New Silk Road. The idea was created in 2008 (then an agreement was signed on simplifying the rules for rail freight, i.e. the so-called SMGS convention), and on September 7, 2013, the President of the People’s Republic of China, Jinping Xi, in a speech at the University of Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana, talked about the idea of ”an economic belt along the Silk Road”.
In the years 2011–2013 the first regular connections from China to Europe were opened on the Chengdu-Łódź, Chongqing-Duisburg and Zhengzhou-Hamburg routes. They served mainly producers from the electronic and automotive sectors. Launched warehouses allowed to improve logistics solutions, establishing procedures and principles of cooperation between carriers. According to statistics from the China Railway Express project, the dynamics of rail transport between China and Europe is steadily increasing. In the years 2011–2016 the annual number of journeys increased a hundredfold, from 17 to 1702, and in 2017 it was already 3673 transports.
Rail transport from China. The awaited changes have arrived thanks to the train connections!
A lot has happened in transport from the Far East over the last few months. Constant competition between maritime shipowners led to the bankruptcy of Hanjin – one of the largest container operators. It also showed that by constantly reducing freight prices, not only Hanjin, but also other ship owners had considerable financial problems. After analyzing the profitability of container freight from China, their prices began to rise as early as November 2016. Sea transport is becoming less popular, also because an alternative has emerged, which is rail transport from China.
The upward trend continues and there is no indication that freight prices are going to go down – primarily because imports and exports are at a very high level and space is still lacking on ships. This situation means that rail transport from China is starting to attract a lot of interest, and the number of importers using this mode of transport is constantly growing. It is influenced by its undeniable advantages: attractive price (comparable to sea freight) with simultaneous (two-fold!) Shortening of delivery time, greater security and simplified customs procedures.
Time is money, or rail transport from China in a nutshell
Time is money. This saying perfectly reflects the profits that result from the decision to rail to China. Prices go down and begin to approach the prices of sea freight, both in full container transport (FCL) and groupage (LCL), which makes it more attractive, and the number of imported goods increases every year. Prices of rail transport from China have dropped by over 100% in the last 5 years and are already at a very attractive level.
A big plus is also the time of rail transport. From the moment of loading onto the train, grass transport usually takes 14 to 17 days depending on which terminal the train goes to. In addition, to meet the growing demand, rail operators create rail connections from various cities in China. This allows you to shorten the route of goods from the shipper to the railway terminal and reduces the cost of transport.
We transport goods from major Chinese production centers: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Dongguan, Hangzhou, Harbin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Changchun, Changsha, Taiyuan, Xiamen, Hefei, Shenyang, Xi ’ an, wuhan
Rail Transport from China BBA Transport System Shanghai Beijing Guangzhou Shenzhen Tianjin Wuhan Dongguan Foshan Chengdu Chongqing Nankin Shenyang Xi’an Hangzhou Harbin Suzhou Qingdao Dalian Zhengzhou Shantou Jinan Changchun Kunming Changsha Taiyuan Xiamen Hefei Yantian Fuzhou Shijiazhuang
Advantages of rail transport from China – summary
What will we gain if we decide to take rail transport from China? There are more advantages of this solution than just saving time. Rail transport from China also means greater ease of loading and less burden on the environment, as well as several other pluses:
- Short transport time.
- The transport time between terminals is quite diverse, but usually it takes about 14-17 days.
- No delays.
- 3 train departures a week (depending on the terminal) provide certainty as to the date of departure of the goods.
- Security.
- Guarantee of full control over the load: from picking it up from the factory until delivery at the door.
- Low environmental impact.
- Rail transport is the most environmentally friendly, sulfur dioxide emissions are five times lower than in the case of air transport.
- Easy loading.
- Rail transport is adapted to transport containers and allows quick loading onto a car.
- Price.
- Contrary to appearances, transport prices are attractive (especially for groupage transport) and comparable to sea freight prices.