A new Silk Road between China and Europe
The booming rail trade between the Old Continent and Asia gained momentum in 2021. Our Rail Logistics Europe subsidiary now carries a growing number of French exports along this new Silk Road. See the story in video.
Successful rail freight venture
A surge in rail freight has created a new Silk Road between China and Europe. Covering 11,000 km in around 22 days, rail costs less than air freight and averages only half the time required for container ships.
As a leading player in multimodal transport, our Rail Logistics Europe (RLE) subsidiary can carry its customers’ cargo all the way from France to China.
This France 2 television segment, broadcast on 24 May 2021, highlights the benefits for Ligne Roset, a high-end furniture maker in Lyon. To supply its 35 shops in China, the company chose Forwardis, an RLE subsidiary, to make regular return journeys to and from Asia.
France 2 television segment of 24 May 2021: Silk Roads
Favourable conditions
Cleaner than air freight and often more direct than maritime shipping, rail freight is in ever-greater demand, including for transcontinental routes over very long distances. The boom began when the Suez Canal was blocked1 in 2021, and gathered pace during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Europe urgently needed medical supplies from China.
China Global Television Network aired this segment on the sharp uptick in rail commerce.
China-EU trade: rail freight sets new records in 2020