A total transit time of only 15 days on the multimodal route via the Port of Kaliningrad was achieved on a first test transport.
After leaving the railway terminal in Chengdu on April 25th, the container train was routed via the border crossing Khorgos – Altynkol, transited Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania for the first part of the transport. It arrived at the Port of Kaliningrad eleven days later, on May 6th. Containers were transshipped from rail to RTSB’s vessel Anja, to be sent on their way to the Hutchison Port in Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port. The vessel berthed safely, four days later, with a record total transit time of only 14,8 days on this multimodal route. From the port, rail forwarding options to multiple inland destinations are readily available.
The service is provided in cooperation with Belintertrans-Germany GmbH, CDIRS, UTLC ERA and RZDL and complements our sea line between the ports of Kaliningrad and Hamburg as well as Immingham (UK), introduced earlier this year.
Because of Brexit, transports to and from the UK had become more complicated. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement concluded between the EU and the UK to regulate trade comes with much bureaucracy.
This multimodal service not only eases customs procedures for shipments from China by bypassing the European economic area, thus avoiding additional declaration and controls in Europe. Intermodal transports customarily use the Eurotunnel between France and the UK.
It also proves to be faster than other transport options between China and the UK. Intermodal rail connections generally offer lead times between 18 and 22 days.
In addition to price, lead time represents a significant factor when it comes to customer satisfaction, because transit time andreliability directly impact various kinds of costs a shipper has.
We are convinced, this new combined transport will create added value for our customers and the entire logistics market by drawing clients, seeking efficient and reliable shipping options.
After an introductory phase of bi-monthly services, the line will be extended to run weekly.
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