Davies Turner said following a difficult 2021, where soaring rail demand created by the extreme air and ocean freight difficulties contributed to operational congestion and delays, its Express China rail freight service is getting back on track.

In a statement, one of the UK largest independent freight forwarding and logistics groups, said based on the arrivals into the UK over the last four weeks, the dedicated rail service is achieving an average 29-day transit time from departure in Wuhan to arrival at our UK depots.

"Over the last month, we have seen improved rail transit times as a result of more timely departures from China. Furthermore, our initiative to truck containers under bond direct from the rail hub in Poland to our UK depots, which offers the fastest and most reliable route, has also helped to improve operations," said Tony Cole, Davies Turner’s Head of Ocean.

On departure from Wuhan, China, the rail service heads direct to Malaszewicze in Poland. Containers are then trucked under bond to Dunkerque for transport by ferry to Dover, then on-carried by truck (still secure in the same container) to Davies Turner’s regional distribution centres across the UK, where they are discharged, customs cleared and delivered to final destination.

Originally launched in 2018, Davies Turner said the operation remains the only direct weekly intermodal consolidation service between China and UK.

"With an improved transit time from China to the UK, following last year’s operational difficulties, our direct weekly Express China Rail service for consol traffic continues to offer a reliable and much faster service versus the all-ocean alternative from ports on China’s North Eastern and Eastern coasts," Cole added.

Davies Turner says that rail has always proved to be a significantly cheaper freight option compared to air and with the current historically high ocean freight rates, it is also a competitive alternative to ocean.