Gefco's new train route ties Chinese ports to Central, Eastern Europe

Gefco Group, the international arm of Russian Railways specializing in automotive and industrial goods logistics, is launching a new door-to-door route between China and Europe, aiming to expand into more industries.

The new service allows overland cargo and ocean freight collected at China's major ports to be delivered via Alataw Pass or Manzhouli, in China's Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, to such countries as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Germany and Hungary.

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Christophe Poitrineau, Gefco's Asia president, said that since rail service tends to be more expensive than sea freight, the company is working on solutions for better backflow transportation, so costs can be lowered.

"Now, it is often a one-way operation from China to Europe, and when the train returns, it is often empty. There is work to be done on both sides - the work of unifying one custom system along the Eurasian line," Poitrineau said.

Although there are regular block trains from Chongqing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Yiwu to both Europe and Central Asia, most haven't been able to operate bidirectional service yet.

As trade accelerates, Poitrineau said more products from Europe will be transported to China using rail routes in coming years.

"The cooperation between the Russian and Chinese governments in terms of unifying railway transportation will benefit us a lot. Our team in Russia is developing another trans-border block train," he said.

Gefco is reviewing policies of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and may invest there to build warehouse facilities, which would be beneficial to its duty management.

But automotive logistics is still Gefco's key market in China, as Chinese carmakers plan to export more vehicles over the next several years.