Shan said the China-Europe freight train service also provides a convenient means for other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea by carrying their goods to Europe. Meanwhile, FELB is developing transport routes within Europe in order to include Italy into the operational network of the Eurasian train service.
Now, railway lines for container trains have been successively opened up by 16 cities in China, heading down to 12 European cities including Duisburg, Hamburg in Germany, and Madrid in Spain. In 2015, China-Europe freight trains made 815 trips, with a year-on-year increase of 165 percent.
According to Thomas Kowalski, director of operations in multimodal transport of Deutsche Post DHL Group, the railway route connecting China and Europe expanded DHL's business. "It opens up new opportunities for DHL in the Asian-Pacific region," he said.
The freight volume of Eurasian railway lines has steadily increased since its operation. It is estimated that the volume will exceed 1 million standard containers by 2030, according to Kowalski.
HUGE POTENTIAL TO BE EXPLOITED
What remains a challenge for Eurasian freight service is that on the return trip eastward the loads are partially empty or even empty. However, the situation is being improved: 265 returning trains, taking up 48 percent of departing trains, have transported goods back to China in 2015, indicating a marked increase compared with 28 trains in 2014.
Kowalski said such phenomenon is rooted in the trade imbalance between China and Europe.
He said empty containers could be prevented through carrying products from neighboring areas of Europe such as Russia and Kazakhstan. Measures should be taken to strengthen logistics coordination within Europe and ensuring effective customs clearance of China-Europe freight trains.
Shan said that thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, countries along the Eurasian railway line will promote the transport capacity of Eurasian freight trains through improving railway infrastructure. AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) is playing a role in this regard.
Moreover, marketing the Eurasian cargo train service should be further promoted by setting up more offices in Europe. "Now more and more people get to know Eurasian freight trains. But it is still a newcomer on the market," he said.
"Introducing Eurasian freight trains more actively and understanding customers' needs better would be helpful for expanding market and increasing cargo volume on the way back."
Chen said the overseas operation of China-Europe freight trains was in urgent need of logistics professionals with expertise in information-based logistics management systems and effective allocation of transport resources, which would strengthen cooperation among cargo trains and increase full-load ratio.
She said a calling center of Eurasian trains could be set up in Europe to provide customers with greater convenience. "Eurasian freight trains should be made known in the first place and our service should be accessible anytime when customers are in need."
