The 15-day journey is an extension of China's Belt and Road network that will strengthen economic ties between Europe and China

SHANGHAI, CHINA -- 15 May 2018 - Rail Cargo Group (RCG), the freight division of the Austrian Federal Railways, and DHL Global Forwarding, the leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop an intermodal rail network between Austria and China, tapping into rising trade along China's Silk Road Economic Belt between Europe and Asia. 

The partnership kicked off with the inaugural 600-meter container's journey from Chengdu's Qingbaijiang Railway Station to the Vienna South Freight Centre. The latest route in DHL's Asia-Europe-Asia multimodal network connects Chengdu to Vienna in just 15 days, spanning 9,800 kilometers and crossing six countries -- China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and Austria.

"Trade growth between China and Austria shows no signs of slowing down, and we are delighted to partner with RCG to further streamline freight connections between both countries," said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Greater China. "This key partnership comes in the wake of Austria's Economy Minister having signed 30 business deals worth USD1.9 billion with Chinese companies last month.[1] The MOU combines RCG's deep expertise in regional rail infrastructure with DHL's end-to-end forwarding capabilities and one of the worlds broadest multimodal networks, giving customers in Europe and China a potent new alternative to tap into the opportunities heralded by the Belt and Road."

Under the MOU, DHL Global Forwarding and RCG will work together to boost rail freight capacity and jointly develop alternative routes to existing China-Europe connections, building on RCG's infrastructure and expertise on the trans-Kazakh routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt. DHL Global Forwarding will also provide door-to-door services including pre- and on-carriage trucking between Qingbaijiang and other parts of China; and between Vienna South Freight Centre, other European rail stations in its network, and customers' final destinations for delivery.

With Chengdus economy poised to grow even further with plans for a one-trillion yuan industrial cluster focused on biomedicine, automotive equipment, intelligent manufacturing and e-commerce services by 2022,[2] the route will also sustain growth in high-value exports between China and Austria.

Rail containers on DHLs multimodal network come with a range of options such as remotely-monitored temperature control, real-time tracking, fully-managed customs clearance and consolidation, and enhanced security -- all of which will become available to customers shipping goods along the Chengdu-Vienna route.

"This direct connection offers fast, efficient and sustainable multimodal capacity supporting high-growth sectors that will bring immense benefits to both countries and continents," said Thomas Kargl, Member of the Board of Directors of Rail Cargo Group. "The Chinese market holds enormous growth potential for Europe, and we intend for this route to support trade volumes that grew nearly 16% last year[3] -- and show no sign of slowing or decreasing in the future. DHLs world-class forwarding services, tailored to a broad range of freight types and requirements, will draw out the best in our rail infrastructure connecting Austria to China and the world."

"Since 2008, we have been investing in local partnerships and infrastructure to make seamless Belt and Road freight connectivity a reality," added Huang. "The Chengdu-Vienna direct connection, made possible by our partnership with RCG and leveraging on their European expertise, will bring a new degree of volume and flexibility to our multimodal network that our customers in China and Europe enjoy, in a way that connects people and businesses securely and reliably to overseas opportunities for growth." (MOR/net).