Chinese rail operator CDiRS has launched a railway connection between China and the Netherlands.

The Chengdu-Tilburg-Rotterdam Express passes through Kazakhstan and Russia and has a transit time of 15 days.

“A great development,” said Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. “By sea, Rotterdam is already the most important European destination of Chinese cargo. Thanks to this shuttle, we are now also adding a fast connection by land. We strongly believe in this concept, partly because a large part of Europe can efficiently be reached via the excellent short-sea connections from Rotterdam. And vice versa, of course.”

The service is currently operated once a week, but CDiRS and its Dutch partner RailPortbrabant plan to increase it to five times a week from late 2017, according to the Port of Rotterdam.