DHL launches fastest rail freight service between China and Germany

• Leveraging
  China Railway (Xi’an-Germany) Express, the new route from Xi’an, China to
  Hamburg and Neuss, Germany cuts transport time from 17 to approximately 10-12
  days
• New
  service extends DHL’s Belt and Road multimodal logistics offerings

SHANGHAI, CHINA�- Media OutReach - 4 November 2019 - DHL
Global Forwarding and Xi’an International Inland Port Investment &
Development Group Co. Ltd have launched the fastest rail service from
Xi’an in China to Hamburg and Neuss in Germany
today, cutting transit time from 17 to between 10 and 12 days. 

The
new express rail service is the first-of-its-kind in the market to break new
ground in the speed and efficiency of China-Europe rail freight, shortening
total transit time by travelling through the Mamonovo-Braniewo
railway border between Russia and
Poland.

Source: DHL

“Xi’an
is at the heart of the New Silk Road economic belt, taking on the same
important role as it once did during the ancient route of Marco Polo’s era,”
said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding China. “A foreign investment and manufacturing hub
that has seen exports increase in 2018 by 29% year-on-year,
the city today is a thriving international center with high-quality production
capabilities in pillar industries like mechanicals, electronics, bio-pharmaceuticals
and automobile manufacturing. By boosting
greater agility whilst offering the express rail service at reasonable costs, DHL
Global Forwarding seeks to connect these fast-evolving industries to rising
demand and market opportunities in Europe.”

 

With trade between the two regions averaging
€1 billion a day and slated to grow, China remains the European Union’s second
biggest trading partner, accounting for the region’s biggest source of imports
and its second-biggest source of exports. Equally, special economic zones in
Greater Xi’an are attracting growing foreign investments as the city positions
itself as a hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G infrastructure and cloud
computing to enhance its manufacturing capabilities. Xi’an is home to over 100
enterprises specializing in AI, bringing in a total revenue of CN¥10 billion (€1.3 billion),
while global and local companies have agreed to invest CN¥214 billion yuan (€27.5 billion)
in the city’s digital development.

 

“Over the past four months, we have been
working closely with DHL to test
and start this express line. Both teams have showed a tremendously high degree
of enthusiasm and professionalism,” said Qu Jinwei, General Manager, Xi’an
International Inland Port Investment & Development Group Co. Ltd. “As
next steps, we will strive to make this express rail freight a success. Using
the development model of ‘hub and industry integration’, we will leverage this
service to strengthen the collaboration between the region’s manufacturing and
trading sectors with international logistics. This would attract more
industries to our region, fortifying their capabilities to gather resources
from international supply chains and sharpening their competitive edges.”

 

The
new rail service takes an approximate 9,400-km route through Kazakhstan,
Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania to Kaliningrad Oblast, a part of the Russian
Federation on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, before entering the European
Union via the Mamonovo-Braniewo crossing. The final stretch of the route crosses
Poland into Germany to the port city of Hamburg, and to Neuss, an important
logistics hub on the Rhine River across Düsseldorf. Traversing numerous
countries, the fastest rail service between China and Germany was created with
the support of China Railway, Belintertrans, RTSB Gmbh and UTLC — Eurasian Rail
Alliance.

The Xi’an-Germany express rail connection
will offer customers real-time milestone visibility, using GPS tracking of
shipments, via the iSee software platform — giving shippers door-to-door
visibility and insight into any shipping exceptions as soon as they occur.

DHL Global Forwarding recently opened two
Rail Competence Centers in Le Havre, France and Felixstowe, UK in response to
growing demand for rail freight services along the New Silk Road, and to
complement its existing Rail Competence Centers, including four in China.

 

Note to editors:

Rail has re-emerged as a viable option
for trans-Eurasian freight, while air and road freight are being developed
along the Belt and Road Initiative. Together, they form the basis for a new
multimodal shipping platform that is disrupting supply chains. Find out which multimodal transport hubs are changing
the way goods are being moved and distributed across Eurasia.

 

Snapshot:
DHL Global Forwarding’s Multimodal Freight Network along China’s Belt and Road
Initiative

As the pioneer in innovative multimodal
shipping solutions from China to Europe, DHL has been offering a suite of
innovative and flexible multimodal solutions since 2010, which connects Chinese
mainland, Taiwan China, Japan and Southeast Asia to Europe.

• West
  Corridor: Fastest connection between Europe, and new emerging inland Chinese
  hubs of Chengdu and Xi’an among others; supporting high-tech, automotive, and
  retail manufacturers located in Western China with cost-effective access into
  European markets
• North
  Corridor: From China’s Eastern & Southern coast via Trans-Siberian Railway
  to Moscow, and further to Poland and Germany; it connects China’s engineering
  and manufacturing hubs in Yangtze & Pearl River deltas to pan-European
  demand in 18-20 days
• South
  Corridor: Traverses three Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and
  Georgia — as well as Caspian Sea before arriving at Istanbul in 12-14 days
• Sea
  transit: Connecting Japan, Korea and Taiwan China to Chinese mainland via ferry
  services, for onward journey to Europe; as well as Shanghai to Europe via
  Piraeus, Greece
• Road
  connection: linking manufacturing base in Vietnam, and South East Asia to
  Europe via China

DHL – The logistics company for the world

portfolio of
logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery,
e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air
and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 380,000
employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects
people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global trade flows. With
specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology,
life sciences and healthcare, energy, automotive and retail, a proven
commitment to corporate responsibility and an unrivalled presence in developing
markets, DHL is decisively positioned as “The logistics company for the world”.

DHL is part of
Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 61 billion
euros in 2018.

About Xi’an International
Inland Port Investment & Development Group – To become a leading international
inland port group

Established in
June 2009, Xi’an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group
Co. Ltd. is a large state-owned enterprise approved by the Xi’an Municipal
People’s Government and invested by the Xi’an International Port Management
Committee.  It is responsible for the
investment, construction and operation of the “Xi’an Port” project.
Its subsidiary, Xi’an International Inland Port Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd,
is appointed by China State Railway Group to operate the China-Europe Railway
Express (Xi’an). The company is also one of the starting members of the
China-Europe Railway Express Transportation Coordination Committee.