Red Sea attacks: Rail offers an alternative

The recent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are having a serious impact on international freight transport. Four of the world's largest shipping companies are taking long detours due to the increasing attacks and avoiding the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important trade routes. According to the Bloomberg news agency, traffic through the Red Sea has already fallen by 35 per cent. Although ships can take the detour via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, this adds up to two weeks to the transit time. There are also higher costs due to the increased fuel consumption. Experts say that the situation show no signs of easing at the moment.

Reliable transport to Europe

A much shorter and more reliable alternative to the sea route is overland transport by rail. With TransNET, Rail Cargo Group handles shipments from China to Europe in about 18 days – a third of the current average of 55 days by sea. Customers benefit from high-frequency connections between European trade routes and the Far East and Central Asia via various corridors on the New Silk Road – not only as an operator service, but also as a multimodal end-to-end logistics solution. Our services also include trucking, customs clearance and transshipment. 

We speed up your China shipments

Want to know more about our services and TransFER connections? Here you can find an overview of our current routes between China and Europe. 

Would you like to book a transport or do you have any further questions?

Please write to us at sales.at.eurasia@railcargo.com and our experts will get back to you as soon as possible.

21.12.2023