CEVA Logistics North Asia has launched a weekly block train service from Xiamen to Europe.

The new service is operated in cooperation with Xiamen International Railway Service and has Duisburg as its final destination.

“Depending on the origin cities in Asia, it will take 16-17 days at a minimum to reach the destination in Europe via Xiamen,” said David Wu, general manager of XMIRS. “More block trains will be operated as demand grows. I am convinced that the countries and cities along the Belt and Road will benefit from the advantage of this seamless transportation mode, which in turn will attract more domestic and foreign enterprises’ attention to Xiamen.”

Sea freight consolidated from other Asian markets can then use the service to reach Europe faster than when using an all-sea route.

“In addition to our recently set up regular trucking service between China and Europe, multimodal (Sea-Rail) transport is a another mode for connecting East and West, which saves more than 10 days compared with sea transport alone,” said Kelvin Tang, director of road and rail at CEVA Logistics North Asia. “We hope to further drive our partnership with XMIRS by opening new Wednesday block trains and regular Saturday block trains for South China and Asian customers’ alternative transportation needs. We are convinced that our Xiamen multimodal transport service will grow and develop in the near future.”