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At first glance, a delivery from China to Russia via Poland sounds bizarre. However, when quick transit times are a priority and multimodal solutions are available, logistics specialists may create such unexpected routes.
From March to May this year, the AsstrA team organized shipment of 34 containers of household appliances by rail from Xian in China via Poland to the Central Economic Region of Russia. The goods passed through the Dostyk-Alashankou border crossing and arrived in Slawkow and Malaszewicze by rail. From there, the goods were transferred to container trucks which, accompanied with the proper documentation, cleared customs in Bryansk in Russia before being delivered to the final recipient.
Irena Topalova
“For the client, the main criterion when choosing the method and route of delivery was the transport time. Without a doubt, the rail route from China directly to Russia is shorter and cheaper. However, in terms of delivery time, it often takes longer than via Poland,” emphasizes Irena Topalova, Freight Forwarder in the EU/China Rail Transport Department.
During recent months, trains at the Sino-Mongolian border in Erenhot have been queuing for weeks for transshipment. Such significant delays were unacceptable for the client. Therefore, AsstrA experts decided to send the cargo via Kazakhstan and the Dostyk-Alashankou border crossing.
Thanks to AsstrA’s good relations with the Chinese station agent, the customer received 10 exclusive places on the rain running on the Xian-Slawkow route. The transit time has been cut by 3-4 days because a wide gauge track was available the entire way and no reloading was necessary. In order to reduce costs, subsequent loads went through Malaszewicze.
Vladislav Martin
“The transit time from China to Russia via Poland is 10-20 days shorter than directly to the Russia. This is due to the fact that there is more freight traffic to the EU than to Russia, and the solutions are better developed. Trains headed to Europe get priority,” explains Vladislav Martin, Head of the EU/China Rail Transport Department.