A Silkrailroad, Made For Cars
If and when China’s car export machine ever gets going in earnest, the city of Chongqing in Western China could become one of its main export hubs. Chongqing is not a sea port. It is the far eastern terminus of a 7,000 mile railroad line that connects Chongqing with Duisburg in Germany.
Currently, the train brings auto parts to China. “A freight train carrying 41 containers full of autoparts arrived in Chongqing in mid-March, sent by U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. and marking the first direct shipment from Germany by rail,” writes The Nikkei [sub]. BMW, “has been shipping parts mainly by rail, rather than by sea, since its second plant began operating in May last year,” says the Tokyo paper. When trains go from China to Germany, they currently bring mostly notebooks. A freight train can carry about 80,000 units.
By boat to China, the trip would take between 50-60 days, all told, says the paper. By train, it takes two weeks. Railways costs are 70-80 percent higher than sea freight, but time is money. There are plans in China to connect to Europe via high speed rail. This would cut the time down to two days.
The transcontinental rail freight service was launched in 2011 on an experimental basis. Now, one train loaded with 40 containers leaves Germany for China every day.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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On the other hand, the train in the picture is a stock photo - it hauls fuel from Russia to China, not freight cars/containers. So the engine might not be the same as for a German parts train.
RPOL, thank you, that was one of the most lucid and informative comment I have read in a long time, methink though that zee Germans will quickly design a new Lok (locomotive) capable of hauling efficiently at speeds above 79 mph. The competition of Panamex should spur that.