New Silk Road’s Member Atlantic Forwarding announced the launch of their first block train which left Zaozhuang, China on 16th July, and is on its way to Duisburg, Germany. The block train is carrying fifty 40´HC containers, operated within their Rail of the Art (ROTA) – Express service. The train is charmingly called “Rosie I”.
For logistics providers, the New Silk Road has been one of the topics that has snatched attention over the past years. The confusion around it is immense. For some, this is one of the most remarkable projects to connect Europe and Asia through the Eurasian landmass. For others, it is a series of infrastructural debt traps. Whatever the concern, it is now clear that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is here to say, as the Chinese Communist Party in 2017 formally included the BRI in its constitution. This means that these developments will continue to occur, and now it is up to us in logistics to leverage the benefits and opportunities.
2020-21 saw some of the biggest logistical disasters, and no, we are not referring to the Ever given stuck in the Suez Canal. The Lebanon explosion in 2020 and the X-Press Pearl disaster a few months ago are prime examples of the mismanagement of dangerous goods. Almost every year, we hear of large oil spills in the ocean and port explosions that pose threats to economic, human and environmental aspects.
On July 13th 2021, the first direct train from the Chinese city of Hefei in Anhui province reached the JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven, a partner of New Silk Road Network. The train departed Hefei on 25 June with a volume of around 100 TEU, carrying mainly household appliances as well as textiles and electrical goods, which will be distributed from Wilhelmshaven to the hinterland.
