Shenyang-Manzhouli-Europe trains boosts Shenyang logistics

Shenyang, an inland provincial capital in Northeast China’s Liaoning province, might seem like an unlikely place for an international logistics hub connecting Northeast Asia and Europe.

But now its ambition is gradually coming true thanks to an intercontinental railway connecting Shenyang with Hamburg, Germany.

The route takes goods from Shenyang to Manzhouli in China, and passes through Russia, Belarus, and Poland, before eventually arriving in Hamburg. Initially one train per week ran on the 10,000-kilometer trip, cutting around two thirds off the time taken to transport goods via water. It will now take 12 to 14 days to transport goods between Shenyang and Germany.

Statistics from Shenyang Port Group reveal that since the group took over the operation of the railway line on Sept 30, 2016, two trains per week travel on the route, and a total of 27 trains carrying 1,622 containers have headed for Europe, dramatically improving intercontinental transportation efficiency.

Shenyang-based businesses, including BMW-Brilliance, Shenyang Ruida Machine Co and China Zhongwang Co (a leading aluminum products processing and research business), are the biggest beneficiaries of the Shenyang-Manzhouli-Europe route. Products such as auto parts, mechanical equipment and clothing can now be shipped quickly to the European market, saving money and time for businesses.

At the end of 2016, Shenyang Port Group, the operator of the Shenyang-Manzhouli-Europe train in Asia, claimed that the group will seize the opportunity provided by the Belt and Road Initiative to improve the infrastructure of the route, and other logistics centers affiliated to it during the 13th Fiver-Year Plan period (2016-2020), in a bid to build Shenyang into an international logistic hub.