The ÖBB Rail Cargo Group and the Cargo Center Graz provide sustainable end-to-end logistics from China to Austria. On 21 June, the first train from China arrived at the most modern freight transport centre south of the Alps.

On Monday 21 June, the Managing Director of Cargo Center Graz Christian Steindl and Rail Cargo Group Sales and Logistics Director Thomas Kargl welcomed the first train from China at Cargo Center Graz in Werndorf. The block train with 41 40-foot containers departed from China on 30 April and covered a distance of 800 to 1,000 kilometres each day.

The shipments of non-food products such as juicers, glass bowl sets, laundry basket sets, drink holders and T-shirts are destined for a leading European retail group. With the arrival of this train, RCG and Cargo Center Graz are able to highlight once again the importance of the One Belt One Road initiative, which connects economies on the Eurasian continent and is seen as an extremely sustainable alternative to air and sea freight.

Clients benefit from the efficient RCG network

RCG’s rail freight transport operations have grown steadily since the first test train from China arrived in 2008. By the end of 2016, the number of departures along the Silk Road was gradually increasing, and in 2017 RCG officially entered the Chinese market. As a result of the strong demand, RCG was able to transport 35,000 TEUs between Europe and Asia in each of the following two years. In 2020, a new record was set with more than 700 trains transporting approximately 70,000 TEUs. This means that one RCG service is travelling in each direction along the new Silk Road every day, benefitting customers across the entire Eurasian continent.

(Source: Rail Cargo Group)