DACHSER Rail Services between Europe and Asia

“Rail is a sensible option when sea freight is too slow and air freight too expensive,” said Thomas Krüger, Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics EMEA at DACHSER. For example, shipping by rail between Asia and Europe averages 16 to 22 days, whereas sea freight takes somewhere between 28 and 36 days.

Using its tightly knit European network of 342 locations and 72 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 6,800 mile 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.

DACHSER's Asia Pacific network

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 offered for both directions: for LCL and FCL shipments to China, and also from China to Europe. Rail Service Desks are available exclusively for DACHSER customers to make bookings in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hamburg. Firm transit times, seamless shipment tracking upon request, and a high frequency of departures throughout the week help ensure transparency and planning.