New China-Germany rail service extends DHL’s Belt and Road multimodal logistics offerings

Nov 4, 2019: DHL Global Forwarding, in order to reduce the transit times, has launched new express rail service, from Xi'an in China to Hamburg and Neuss in Germany.

The service is launched in partnership with Xi'an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group Co. Ltd. It reduces the total transit time from 17 to between 10 and 12 days by travelling through the Mamonovo-Braniewo railway border between Russia and Poland.

The service takes an approximate 9,400-kilometres 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.

Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding China said: “A foreign investment and manufacturing hub that has seen exports increase in 2018 by 29 percent 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 specialising in AI, bringing in a total revenue of €1.3 billion, while global and local companies have agreed to invest €27.5 billion in the city's digital development.

This 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.

This Xi'an-Germany express rail connection was created with the support of China Railway, Belintertrans, RTSB Gmbh and UTLC — Eurasian Rail Alliance.