Contargo Brings the New Silk Road to Frankfurt-Höchst

In early April, a freight train from the Chinese provincial capital Jinan arrived for the first time at the Contargo Container Terminal in Frankfurt-Höchst. This means that the Frankfurt region is now connected to the ‘New Silk Road’. Following this premiere, Contargo expects more direct trains from China.

(Duisburg; Frankfurt/Main) The transport by rail between the city of Jinan and Frankfurt am Main takes between 18 and 20 days. The first train operated by the Railway Operator FELB, carrying 44 40-foot containers filled with consumer goods from China, arrived punctually at the Contargo Container Terminal in Frankfurt-Höchst on April 3rd. The company took over the handling and transport of the containers to customers in the local area.

“Finally, the Rhine-Main region is connected to the New Silk Road,” says Kawus Khederzadeh, Managing Director of Contargo Industriepark Frankfurt-Höchst GmbH. “While many ships from the Far East are overbooked, inland vessels in the western ports often wait a long time for their processing, sea freight rates have risen enormously, and containers are in short supply at the seaports, some of our customers are looking for an alternative. This is becoming increasingly urgent as the congestion in the Suez Canal will lead to further strain on port facilities and transportation infrastructure in the coming weeks. So it’s a good time to switch to rail transport.”

After the first test train, not only two to three freight trains from Jinan are expected to arrive at the terminal in Frankfurt each month. In the coming weeks, more trains from various Chinese regions are expected in Frankfurt.

Photo: © Contargo