First Direct Train from China Reaches JadeWeserPort

The first direct train from the Chinese city of Hefei in Anhui Province, the freight transport center, has reached JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven. The train departed from Hefei on June 25 with around 100 TEU volume, primarily household appliances, textiles, and electrical items, which will be distributed to the hinterland from Wilhelmshaven.

(Wilhelmshaven) The operator of this new train connection is the state-owned port operating company Hefei International Land Port (HILP), which now connects Germany’s only container deep-water port with Hefei as part of the “One Belt One Road” initiative. The core business of the company is the organization of international freight transport with full trains to Central Europe and Central Asia. In addition, HILP also offers combined sea/rail transport between Hefei and the port of Ningbo, as well as transport and logistics concepts tailored to the needs of customers.

The partner on the German side is DB Cargo Eurasia, which has been active in the Eurasian Corridor since 2008 to meet the transport demand for full trains and individual containers between China and Europe, and which has developed into a regular service since 2011. DB Cargo Eurasia serves as the DB operator and provider on the Eurasian Corridor and, together with DB Cargo Russia and the emerging DB Cargo Transasia, forms the network of DB Cargo structures from the eastern EU external border, thereby filling the rail transport within the DB Cargo network with volumes to and from China.

Reception Committee by High-Ranking Politicians

The transcontinental connections between China and Europe offer customers competitive and environmentally friendly transport alternatives. Other partners of the new connection include DB Cargo Russia, DB Cargo Poland, and DB Cargo Intermodal Sales. During an event, representatives from politics, regional business, and stakeholders in the freight transport center welcomed the first direct train with the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Hamburg, Mr. Xiaohui DU, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil, State Secretary in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Transport and Digitalization, Dr. Berend Lindner, and Wilhelmshaven’s Mayor Carsten Feist at the forefront.

The province of Anhui and the state of Lower Saxony have maintained a partnership for over 35 years. The Prime Minister was also pleased about this: “The container train connection between Hefei and Germany’s only deep-water port demonstrates the partnership between Anhui Province and Lower Saxony. With this connection, Lower Saxony shows that our rail infrastructure can function as part of the new Silk Road.”

Ideal Conditions on the Rail as Well

Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeserPort-Marketing GmbH & Co. KG (JWPM), Dr. Bernd Althusmann, was also very pleased about the arrival of the first direct train from China: “The establishment of a direct train connection between the Chinese province of Anhui and JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven proves that we have a competitive port location in Lower Saxony in the global competition with Germany’s only container deep-water port. Due to its optimal hinterland connections, it offers national and international customers ideal conditions on the rail as well.”

Later this week, a Strategic Cooperation Agreement between HILP and the Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeserPort-Marketing GmbH & Co. KG (JWPM) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between JWPM, China Logistics, and the Anhui Provincial Port & Shipping Group will be signed. These two contracts lay the foundation for the rapid establishment of regular services between Hefei and JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven.

Thanks to Partners in China

Andreas Bullwinkel, Managing Director of JWPM, expressed his delight at the arrival of the first China-Europe block train and the cooperation with HILP: “We are very pleased that we have succeeded in establishing this train connection between Wilhelmshaven and Hefei and thank our partners in China for their trust and the opportunity to also be part of the rail side of the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. The portfolio of the freight transport center and the container terminal is thus enriched. We wish the new connection a good utilization and hope for further expansion of the rail network to China.”

Photo: © JadeWeserPort / Image Caption: l. to r. Mayor Carsten Feist; Prime Minister Stephan Weil, Consul General Xiaohui DU, Andreas Bullwinkel