Rail Freight

Rail freight. Do you need a faster option compared to ocean freight, but more cost-effective than airfreight?

In 2018 our rail department started a pioneering approach and has archived first-class status at both ends: the operator and our clients. Reach your destination faster than by sea with our direct rail connections from Asia to main destinations across Europe.

Our rail department guarantees the best options available, via various routes from – not only for FCL or whole block trains but also for our own weekly groupage containers to East-, South- and Central Europe.

The history of the Silk Road

The Silk Road was a network of caravan routes through Central Asia, along which trade was conducted for many centuries between China and eastern Asia on the one hand and the Middle East and the Mediterranean on the other. For centuries, the Silk Road was the main link between East and West. The name comes from the silk that people brought from the east to the west.

In 1994, a railway line was added to the Silk Road, through the International Railway between Almaty in Kazakhstan and Ürümqi in China’s Sinkiang province. Since then, the rail connection has been expanded with the ultimate goal of a connection from China to London as the final destination. This transport connection is considered a viable competitor: faster than by boat and cheaper than by plane.

In July 2015, the first container train from China arrived at the Kijfhoek railway yard near Rotterdam. In September 2016, a fixed weekly rail connection was included in the timetable with container trains between Chengdu in China and Rotterdam/Tilburg. Due to differences between the track widths on the route, the containers are placed twice on other container trucks en route.