There has been a train connection between Europe and China for well over a century. The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong was developed opposite the train station. You got on in London, disembarked in Hong Kong and were not sea sick once.Now the emphasis is happening again, although it never quite went away. Now the focus is on goods traveling both within China and from there to Europe.
The South China Morning Post reported that according to Tsang Yam-pui, an executive director of NWS Holdings, the listed infrastructure arm of New World Development, the number of container train stations on the Mainland will be increased from one to eight next year.
NWS owns 22% of a joint venture, China United International Rail Containers (CUIRC), which operates the container rail network in the country. The Ministry of Railways owns 34% of the venture, while French shipping line CMA CGM, German state rail firm Deutsche Bahn and Israeli shipping line Zim own 8% each. CIMC and Luck Glory own 10% each.
CargoNews Asia reports the joint venture was established in 2007 with an investment of $1.8 billion, to build and operate 18 rail container terminals in the country.
By 2012, a further 10 container train stations will start operation in cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, tripling the volume of containers transported on rail in the country to 10 million TEUs per year from current levels. Would they make the shipping time to Europe any quicker? Theoretically, at least, they could cut four or five days off the time.
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