In June 2010, the Russian-German joint venture Trans-Eurasia Logistics GmbH, with the support of JSC TransContainer and DB Intermodal, began regular container transportation between Duisburg (Germany) and Moscow. A train called “Moskvich” runs once a week, breaking a 2,200-km journey in 107 hours.

In total, four trains from Duisburg have been sent to date. During this time, customers have already been able to verify the benefits of the new transport product. The service includes not only the transportation of containers, but also the terminal handling of goods at the points of departure and arrival, storage services, constant monitoring of the movement of containers, as well as auto delivery from the destination station to the recipient’s warehouse. In this case, the CIM consignment note combination can be used, which will significantly accelerate the customs clearance of goods at the destination station.
According to the technology for transportation on this route, the train travels to the border of Poland and the Republic of Belarus, where containers are loaded onto the cars of JSC TransContainer. In addition, containers can be sent to various stations located in Russia and the CIS countries.

To implement the new project, JSC TransContainer provides its own containers located in the container depots of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerpen, and Duisburg, with which JSC TransContainer concluded agreements for the storage of equipment. Trans-Eurasia Logistics GmbH is the operator of these shipments.
“Observing the increase in customer demand for logistics services in this region, we, together with our partners, were the first to offer a regular through container train from the center of Germany to the capital of Russia,” said Dr. Karl-Friedrich Rausch, Member of the Board of Transport and Logistics of DB Mobility Logistics AG (DB ML AG) as part of the Global Rail Freight Conference in St. Petersburg. “We are working hard to convince our customers of the good quality and high reliability of the new rail service,” he added.

“The goal of our joint project is to offer logistic services for organizing container traffic between Western Europe and Russia from one source and thereby strengthen and make railway freight transportation on this important European transport route,” commented Dr. Alexander Hedderich, Chairman of the Management Board of DB Schenker Rail.

The specialists of JSC TransContainer are confident in the high degree of demand for the new service not only by European customers. “This project aroused wide interest from large Russian exporters, as evidenced by the high percentage of rolling stock loading in the western direction. In addition, the delivery time for such containers to Duisburg is halved compared to alternative transportation through the Big Port of St. Petersburg,” said Pavel Sokolov, Deputy Sales Director of JSC TransContainer. In addition, the organization of container traffic by rail on this route is a quick, profitable and environmentally friendly alternative to road transport.