New Direct Shanghai–Europe Rail Freight Service Launched

Published April 4, 2018 · Sino-Euro Railway

A new "Shanghai–Europe Rail" China Railway Express container service has been launched from Shanghai's Yangpu Station. Running on a fixed weekly schedule, it reaches destinations in Russia, Central Asia and Europe in about 12 days — significantly faster than ocean shipping.

The service is built around a cross-border e-commerce logistics model. Its information platform pushes container data in advance, accepts online orders and delivers goods directly to the terminal, creating what operators describe as a mobile "cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouse on wheels." The model saves merchants storage fees, improves efficiency and leads the existing B2B2C model.

The launch targeted one of the world's fastest-growing e-commerce markets. Russia's cross-border e-commerce reached USD 4.5 billion in 2017 after growing 30% over seven years, and 25 million Russians already shopped online. According to China's General Administration of Customs, about 12% of all cross-border parcels from China were sent to Russia in 2017, and total e-commerce volume there was forecast to keep expanding strongly through 2020.