Hamburg and Xuzhou have successfully established new rail services — further expanding direct links between China and Europe.
In a statement, the Port of Hamburg noted that it is a top destination for rail services between China and Germany. Since November last year, it added that a new link has become established between Xuzhou and Hamburg.
The Port of Hamburg also expects at least two more trains from the Chinese city of Xuzhou in May.
"This latest service by Xuzhou-Europe Railway Express signals its established status in the Hanseatic City, where its sixth train has meanwhile arrived, and the service will be further expanded," it said.
Rail connection to Hamburg
The port noted that the first train to Hamburg departed in November last year from Tongshan rail freight terminal. Its route encompassed Russia, Poland and Hamburg, among other points. The containers still on board are despatched onwards throughout Europe.
In recent years, 232 links have been established between 20 Chinese destinations and Hamburg.
In 2020 throughput on intercontinental rail traffic between Hamburg and China alone increased by at least seven percent and total volume therefore climbed to 107,000 TEU.
Almost 40 trains per week are also running between various provinces in China and Europe’s largest rail port.
“The New Silk Road is an important addition to seaborne services on the global supply chain between China and Germany. Positive developments stress the welcome being given to what is being offered,” says Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing.
Throughput is also growing at the same rate.
In the statement, it noted that Xuzhou Huaihai International Land Port, for example, saw throughput in the first eleven months of last year increased to 24,190 TEU — representing a 56% gain in 2019.
The Chinese operator is pursuing ambitious aims to make the location an essential hub for Silk Road services to Europe.
“With Hamburg, the Xuzhou-Europe Railway Express offers its customers an additional connection with Central Europe. From Tongshan freight terminal in SW Xuzhou, via Erenhot, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland, freight reaches the Hanseatic City in just 18 days,” Xuzhou Huaihai International Land Port said.
Last year alone, 300 trains from Xuzhou transported consumer goods and building machinery made by Xugong, Liebherr, Hitachi and CAT to Europe.
On average, a block train departs with 94 containers and weighs almost 470 tons. Depending on traffic, on average it will need 15 days to cover the route of over 6,000 kilometres.
The port noted the advantages of Xuzhou's location for rail connection.
It said conditions are favourable since Xuzhou is one of China’s top hubs for rail traffic. Several high-speed routes – e.g. between Beijing-Shanghai and Lianyungang-Lanzhou – meet there. The city is also directly linked via canals with the ports of Ningbo-Zhoushan, Shanghai and Lianyungang on the East coast.
This city is situated in the North of the Eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.
It noted that Xuzhou is also the home of Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group – XCMG, which develops, manufactures and distributes building machinery, including trucks, cranes, earth-moving and road-building equipment and is the world’s fifth-largest construction machinery group, dispatching its products, some on its own train, via the New Silk Road to Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
These were aboard some of the 300 trains that last year transported quantities of consumer goods and construction machinery from Xuzhou to Europe.
Hamburg noted that on average, a block train departs with 94 containers and a weight of almost 470 tons. Depending on traffic, it will need an average of 15 days to cover the route extending over 6,000 kilometres.
Strong demand for rail between China-Europe
Chinese state-owned media Xinhua noted that officials show China-Europe freight trains from Xuzhou has recorded "close to the sum of the past five years," which it said indicates the city's enhanced logistics capacity and the strong import demands in the Yangtze River Delta region.
"China-Europe freight train services have gained popularity during the pandemic thanks to their low prices, large transportation capacity, and high stability, helping stabilize the international industrial chain and support the efforts of both Europe and Asia to contain the epidemic and resume production," it added.
As of November 2020, the number of China-Europe freight trains hit a record high of 10,180 this year, according to data from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
