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Gdansk port promises to slash China-UK rail timings

[ November 25, 2019   //   ]

A new rail link from Xi’an in China to the Port of Gdansk will include a ‘short-cut’ to the UK and Scandinavia, cutting journey times by 3-5 days compared to the existing rail service via Hamburg, says the Polish port as it welcomed the first Euro–China Train on 25 November.

Part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, in cooperation between the Port of Gdansk Authority, DCT Gdansk container terminal and route operator Adampol, the new route offers journey times from China to the UK of 12-14 days via feeder services from Gdansk.

Port of Gdansk Authority management board president Lukasz Greinke said: “We are able to accelerate the transport of goods from China by up to five days. It also involves fewer operations on the container, which results in lower costs. From now on, the Port of Gdansk can offer a faster, better value and more competitive service.”

He added that it was “an eye-catching development for Gdansk in China and the UK, Sweden and Norway. Until now the Port of Gdansk has been known for its ocean connections to China. The rail link opens up opportunities with in-land Chinese cities and logistics operations.”

The new rail link will be managed by Polish transport and logistics company Adampol, which operates a transshipment hub for up to 19 trains a day from China at its terminal in Malaszewicze on the Polish-Belarusian border.

The Port of Gdansk said that it was also speaking with UK, Scandinavian and Polish companies including car makers and timber producers as well as shipping lines and freight forwarding companies about the new link.

The next Baltic Train from China will arrive in Gdansk in December with a regular weekly service planned from January 2020. The new connection will also be used to transport goods into Belarus.

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