DHL Global Forwarding has launched its multimodal service connecting China with Turkey using a new rail corridor.

The rail corridor is a collaboration between DHL and KTZ Express, Kazakhstan’s national multimodal operator.

Cargo departs from Lianyungang in eastern China and passes through Kazakhstan on the new rail link to the port of Aktau, where it is shipped across the Caspian Sea to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It is then transported by rail to the Georgian port of Poti, and traverses the Black Sea to Istanbul. The whole journey is expected to take approximately 14 days.

“A flexible, comprehensive service network creates greater reliability and efficiency for our customers under all sorts of conditions, no matter the origin or destination of their freight,” said Charles Kaufmann, CEO of North Asia and head of value-added services at DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific. “As the One Belt, One Road initiative takes shape, DHL has already begun laying down much of the infrastructure and support needed to ensure seamless trade flows between all countries along its routes.”

According to Steve Huang, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding China, trade between China and countries along the Silk Road has grown by an average of 19% per year over the past decade, and this will increase even more as a result of the One Belt, One Road initiative.

“Turkey already counts China as its second-largest source of imports, and the EU as its largest export market,” said Huang. “New corridors like the Lianyungang-Istanbul link will only further boost Turkey’s strategic importance and associated economic development as a conduit for trade between China and Europe.”

DHL already operates three multimodal services using its North and West corridors.