For weeks, the world’s second-largest economy was virtually at a standstill due to the coronavirus crisis. China has since restarted large parts of its industrial sector and resumed international trade. This is one of the reasons why a regular container train service is now set to be established between several major Chinese cities and Cologne.
This weekend, the first regular scheduled train, designated DBO-W155, arrived at CTS Container-Terminal GmbH in the Port of Cologne-Niehl; the 22 railcars arrived on time at the trimodal transshipment terminal operated by the HGK affiliate. The containers, carrying all kinds of goods, are primarily destined for companies in Cologne and the surrounding area. However, containers can also be forwarded via regular train connections from Cologne to destinations in the greater Milan area, as well as to Valencia, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Aschaffenburg, and Schweinfurt. On Saturday evening, the train departed Cologne and headed back toward China.
“Especially in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply of goods to the population must be guaranteed. This also includes goods produced in China. Conversely, goods manufactured in the Rhineland are in demand in China. So it’s only logical to launch this connection,” say CTS Managing Director Oliver Grossman and Oliver Haas, CTS General Manager of Business Development.
Once a week, the train connects Cologne with major Chinese cities such as Chongqing, Xiamen, and Xi’an. Within China, the freight can then be redistributed to a total of 120 additional destinations. The transit time for the containers ranges from about 13 to 19 days, depending on the destination. The price is comparable to that of ocean freight, but the goods reach their destination in about one-third of the time.
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The Zug product is provided by DBO Bahnoperator GmbH and the China-based company BTE (Beijing Trans Eurasia). The two companies operate at a total of eight locations in China and Europe and employ a total of 200 people. With more than 500 trains per year, the consortium is one of the market leaders in rail container transport to and from China.
Rail connection also attractive for shipments to Eastern Europe
Thanks in part to the Chinese freight railway CRCT (China Railway Container Transport), transit times within China can be significantly reduced, which benefits the local export industry. The connection is supported by the Russian, Kazakh, and Belarusian railways. Along this route, containers can therefore be booked from Cologne to Poland, for example. Within Europe, DBO utilizes large and medium-sized private railways to guarantee the best possible transport service. RheinCargo handles the so-called “last mile” to the Port of Niehl.
The neska Group, a subsidiary of HGK AG that holds a 62.5 percent stake in CTS Container-Terminal GmbH, views the new connection as a model for others to follow. “In the intermodal business, neska operates six modern, trimodal container terminals that are ideally located in metropolitan areas and are intelligently connected to one another and to seaports via their own inland waterway vessels and rail systems. In addition to maritime transport, we also see enormous potential in continental transport,” said neska Managing Director Stefan Hütten.
