Skip to content
  • (408) 883-8053
  • [email protected]
Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
Menu
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
Resilic Logo
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
Menu
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
ANNOUNCEMENT: Resilinc Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Vista Equity Partners Read More
Resilic Logo
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
  • Customer Hub
Menu
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
  • Customer Hub
ANNOUNCEMENT: Resilinc Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Vista Equity Partners Read More
Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
Menu
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
Resilic Logo
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
Menu
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
  • Solutions
    • EventWatchAI
    • RiskShield
      • Supplier Assessment Library
      • Business Continuity Planning
    • Multi-Tier Mapping
      • Resilinc Supplier Network
    • Autonomous AI Mapping
    • CommodityWatchAI
    • Data Products and Offerings
    • Supply Chain Risk and Resiliency
      • Advisory Services
      • Data and Intelligence Services
  • Industry
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Automotive & Industrial
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • High-Tech & Semiconductor
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Learning Center
    • Special Reports
    • Events
    • Developer API
  • Company
    • About
    • Partners
    • News
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Demo
  • Login
  • Customer Hub

Home / Blogs / The move to rail: a look at China-Europe supply chains

Silk Road

The move to rail: a look at China-Europe supply chains

Jan 25, 2022

Resilinc Editorial Team

Logistics, Supply chain management

The freight train that arrived in the Parisian rail hub of Valenton in early January wasn’t an especially large one—at 34 containers, it carried just 20% of the load of a typical intermodal freight train. But it was featured on CNN Business and in other business media because it had traveled 6,000 miles from Xian China and represented a growing trend in China-Europe supply chains: shifting a portion of container traffic away from pricey and congested ocean shipping lanes to rail.

“Once unusual, long-haul train freight shipments between China and Europe have become much more common during the pandemic as companies that need to move goods between the huge economies look for alternatives to snarled and expensive air and sea routes,” wrote CNN.

Part of what is often called The New Silk Road, the freight rail network between France and China isn’t new but was initiated in 2011, according to CNN. It’s growing dramatically however. A spokesperson for France’s national rail operator SCNF reported that five years ago, eight freight trains from China arrived at the Valenton hub daily; that number has increased to 18 to 20 today.

And France isn’t the only European country with growing rail links to China. Germany, which imports large amounts of auto parts from China, has 10 rail lines connecting Hamburg, Duisburg and other industrial hubs to Chengdu, Shenzhen and other Chinese cities, according to Le Figaro.

Recent developments portend even more growth in The New Silk Road rail network. In June 2021, the direct connection between Xian and Valenton was created. And in November 2021, this rail-trade route reached other milestones, adding new drop-off points in Lyons and Bordeaux, and hauling its first China-bound load—containers of high-end furniture, linen products, cosmetics and wine, according to RailFreight.com.

Business media report different estimates of the price differential between rail and ocean shipping for China-Europe supply chains. Le Figaro quotes French officials’ estimates that rail shipping between China and France costs €13,000 per container while ocean shipping costs €10,000; CNN averages a basket of international ocean shipping rates at $9,400 (€8,300) and puts the China-Europe trip at just $8,000 (€7,050). CNN also reports that European companies shipping to China receive a subsidy from the Chinese government that cuts their costs to as little as $2,000 (€1,750) per container, while Le Figaro reports a more modest subsidy that takes the price down by €4,000 ($4,550) from standard rates (which it estimates at €13,000).

The big advantage in shipping either direction is the faster transit time: as fast as 25 days for rail vs. the typical 70-day shipping time by ocean. However, that 45-day advantage is typically reduced substantially by delays. The load that CNN monitored took nearly 40 days due to “traffic on the tracks, lengthy customs checks at the Polish border and a shortage of train drivers in Germany caused by the pandemic.” CNN also notes the vast capacity advantages of container ships over trains: while the largest ships can haul about 20,000 containers, trains are generally limited to several hundred.

It’s worth mentioning that the rail operator—Xi’an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., LTD—claims an average transit time of 40 days between Xian and Valenton, and it looks to optimize its operations and find “alternative solutions” to bring the transit time down to 25 days, according to RailFreight.com. RailFreight.com also reports that other Chinese export hubs including Hefei and Shanxi have launched regular trains to France, and Shijiazhuang had planned to establish a direct rail link with Valenton by the end of 2021.

Le Figaro also reports that at the Polish border—one of two points on the Xian-Valenton line where loads must be switched to different trains due to the wider gauge of Soviet-era railways—new docks for unloading and reloading goods are being built to expand capacity to 25 or 30 trains per day on the Xian-Valenton line. “C’est le prix” (this is the price) of making rail a real alternative to ocean shipping for China-Europe trade, according to the newspaper.

Resilinc Special Report: How Supply Chain Disruptions Are Impacting The 2022 Holiday Season

White Paper

Resilinc Special Report: How Supply Chain Disruptions Are Impacting The 2022 Holiday Season

Learn more in Resilinc’s Special Report on predictions and trends for the 2022 holiday season and effective strategies to navigate potential holiday risks.

Download Now

Recent Posts

Critical Cancer Drugs, Other Life-Saving Medications Face Severe Shortages

Forced Labor in the Automotive Supply Chain: What Car Companies Can Do

4 Crucial Commodities to Watch in 2023

CHIPS Update: New Vision for a National Semiconductor Technology Center

Which Industries Have Been Impacted by UFLPA?

5 Ways to Mitigate ESG Risks in Your Supply Chain

Resilinc’s Q1 2023 Supply Chain Disruption Data

Introducing EventWatchAI 5.0: 100M New Sources, Near Real-Time Reporting

About Resilinc

We’re the world’s leading supply chain monitoring, mapping, and resiliency solution. Over 100k organizations partner with us to take their SCRM programs from reactive to resilient.
Request Demo

Recent Blogs

Loading...
Image of a doctor with purple gloves, filling a syringe. Many of the cancer drug shortages are injectables.
May 30, 2023
4 MIN READ
Resilinc Editorial Team

Critical Cancer Drugs, Other Life-Sav...

Cancer drugs have once again become one of the top five drugs in short supply....
Healthcare, Human Health, Supply Chain Disruptions
May 23, 2023
5 MIN READ
Resilinc Editorial Team

Forced Labor in the Automotive Supply...

Believe it or not, the car you’re driving around likely has parts made with forced...
Automotive, Automotive Industry
A cobalt quarry with dust clearing.
May 16, 2023
5 MIN READ
Resilinc Editorial Team

4 Crucial Commodities to Watch in 2023

Your business likely relies on raw materials experiencing significant price fluctuations or shortages. Many industries...
Commodity management, Rare earth minerals
Read All Blogs

Who's in your supply chain?

Better visibility starts now

Email Now|Call Now|Chat Now

Receive our monthly NewsWatch digest

Subscribe
Resilinc Transparent Logo

Most Trusted, Cognitive Supply Chain Risk Management Platform

Solutions

Blog

Careers

Company

  • About
  • News
  • Events
  • About
  • News
  • Events

Resources

  • White Papers & Reports
  • Case Studies
  • On-Demand Webinars
  • White Papers & Reports
  • Case Studies
  • On-Demand Webinars

Follows Us

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin

Sales: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]
Partnerships: [email protected]

Resilinc Transparent Logo

Most Trusted, Cognitive Supply Chain Risk Management Platform

Company

  • About
  • News
  • Events
  • About
  • News
  • Events

Resources

  • White Papers & Reports
  • Case Studies
  • On-Demand Webinars
  • White Papers & Reports
  • Case Studies
  • On-Demand Webinars
  • Solutions
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Solutions
  • Blog
  • Careers

Follows Us

Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin

Sales: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]
Partnerships: [email protected]

© 2023 Resilinc Corporation. All rights reserved.

Data Security

Privacy Policy

Unlock the Secrets of Building a World-Class Supply Chain Resiliency Program

Discover Best Practices and Proven Strategies with Our 2023 Ultimate Guide to SCRM

           Download Guide