Freight Train from China Arrives in Duisburg after Traveling 10,300 Kilometers

New test train from Chongqing, with 16 days journey time, is the attractive forerunner for planned regular services from the Chinese hinterland

Berlin/Duisburg - A container train from Chongqing in China arrived yesterday night in Duisburg after traveling for scarcely 16 days. For the 10,300-kilometer journey along the so-called Southern route, the DB Schenker train, which was commissioned by a global company, completed the journey in about half the time that would have been necessary taking the sea route. The route taken by the train went south of Mongolia, through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland to Germany. Previous test trains on several occasions have followed the entire route north of Mongolia taken by the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is 2,000 kilometers longer, but involves less customs formalities.

Chongqing, the “city of lights“ on the Yangtze Kiang, with a population of just under 30 million, is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in the world. Located in Sichuan Province in the Chinese hinterland, the city has developed into an important production center for various industries. Quite a few global companies of different industries operate in Chongqing. The majority of goods exported to Europe currently take the sea route, some are sent by air freight.

Transporting the containers to a Chinese seaport alone takes around three days. By the time they get there, the train to Duisburg will have already covered half of its journey through China along the Eurasian Land Bridge.

Dr. Karl-Friedrich Rausch, Member of the Management Board of DB Mobility Logistics AG responsible for Transportation and Logistics, commenting on the arrival of the train in the Port of Duisburg, said: “Most important of all, the time taken for the journey from China’s interior, the train’s arrival in the middle of Germany and the possibility of delivering the containers from here to their destinations quickly and safely, demonstrate the attractiveness of our service. We hope that, with the journey now completed, we have once again convinced our customers of the advantages of such a train. According to our planning schedule regular services between China and Germany could begin within this year upon sufficient demand”.