Air cargo to lose out as new Asia-Europe rail services cut transit times and cost

Reduced costs and transit time on Asia-Europe rail freight services could mean a 10% shift in volumes as shippers switch their temperature-controlled cargo away from air.
Henrik Christensen, chief executive at Silk Route Railway, believes rail will become more attractive than air, as transit times and costs are reduced via new block-train services, investments in reefer equipment, advances in rail gauge technology and a “game-changing” free zone on the China-Kazakhstan border.
“I look at rail as really being competitive with air but not ocean freight,” Mr Christensen told delegates at the Cool Logistics Asia conference in Hong Kong this month.
Source: The Loadstar