China-Europe Railway Express, Shipping by freight train|UCS

China-Europe Railway Express brings a new, faster way of shipping and transcontinental rail freight traffic from China to the Europe is seeing a sharp rise. Shipping containers by sea from China to Europe usually takes 30-40 days, however, shipping by freight train reduces the transit time to only half. And the saving on shipping cost is substantial compared to air freight. 

China-Europe freight train service is a perfect alternative to the traditional modes of transportation, faster than sea freight, substantially cheaper than air freight.Rail freight provides versatility, high carrying capacity, and speed, making it a great option.

On Mar 19, 2011, the first China-Europe freight train departed from Chongqing and arrived in Duisburg 16 days later. And that started a new era for railway freight as an alternative to sea freight and air freight when shipping from China. With the “Belt and Road Initiative”, China-Europe railway transport has subsequently gained rapid traction.

Rail Freight from China to Europe, shipping from China to Europe by freight train

BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), also known as “the new Silk Road” and “One Belt One Road”(OBOR), was proposed by Chinese President Xi in 2013. The Belt Initiative covers land and rail routes, while the Road covers maritime routes, together BRI aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.
The new Silk Road is gaining momentum and offers many new opportunities for companies trading between Europe and China.

How long does it to ship from China to Europe by freight train?

The rail journey from China to Europe, from terminal to terminal, takes 15-20 days, depending on the route. That is roughly half the time it takes to ship containers by sea freight. With these shorter transit times, businesses can react more quickly to changing market demands.

Railway freight routes from China to Europe

Shipping from China to Spain
The Yiwu-Madrid Railway Line is the longest railway route in the world, taken by container trains from the Chinese city Yiwu to Madrid, Spain, a total distance of 13000KM (8077 miles). It also crosses through the greatest number of countries, going through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France before reaching Spain.
Shipping from China to the UK
Yiwu – London railway line is available. It’s the second longest freight railway route with a distance of 12874KM.
Shipping from China to Russia
The first China-Europe freight train linking Chengdu and Russia’s St. Petersburg was launched on Feb 21, 2021.
Shipping from China to Germany
A new freight train route was launched between Xuzhou (an industrial and transportation hub in East China) and Hamburg, Germany on Nov 28, 2020.
Shipping from China to Poland
China-Poland railway transport route was launched in 2013 already.
A new China-Europe freight train route connecting Chengdu and Gdansk was launched on Feb 21, 2021.
Shipping from China to Netherlands
The Chengdu-Tilburg-Rotterdam line is the fastest and only direct railway freight route between China and the Netherlands. With this connection, shipping containers from China to Netherlands takes only 15 days. Even by air freight, we need 7 days on average.
Shipping from China to France
In 2016, the first direct freight train linking Wuhan China and Lyon France started operation.
In June 2021, a new direct China-Europe freight train service was launched, linking Shanxi with the French capital Paris.
Shipping from China to Belarus
Belarus has become the land link between China and Europe, over 90% of China-Europe rail freight traffic has been going through Belarus.
The first Shenzhen-Minsk freight train set off from Port of Yantian on May 23, 2017, adding another trade line to China’s planned economic corridor through Eurasia.
In November of 2019, new container railway route between Zhuzhou and Minsk was launched.
China Express Train from Xi'an to Prague via Turkey & Azerbaijan
This railway route was opened on Jan 10, 2020, freight train departs from Xi'an every Friday. 

Our China-Europe freight train service covers more origin and destination terminals than mentioned above.
Not only do we offer station to station transport, UCS provides customers the easiest one-stop door to door rail freight shipping solution. Whether you are shipping a private address, or commercial address or FBA address, we got you covered. For cargo shipped by freight train from China to Europe, with our railway freight team and partners in the Europe, door to door shipping is made possible.