Volvo vehicles travel by train from China to Europe

Volvo, the logistics company ARS Altmann AG and other service providers celebrated the arrival of the first train with Volvo vehicles from China at the railway terminal at the Kluizendock in Gent, Belgium.
With immediate effect, vehicles of the Swedish OEM Volvo will be transported between China and Europe in several round trips per week, with a total volume of 40,000 vehicles per year.

The vehicles are transported as part of an integrated hybrid concept developed by ARS Altmann AG together with Intermodal Container Logistics Vienna (ICL). The concept for the New Silk Road relation envisages the combination of covered, double-deck car transport wagons on the section between Belgium and Poland and 40-foot containers on the section between Poland and China.

In 2018, ARS Altmann had successfully placed the first continuous automotive RoRo train from Bremerhaven to Chongqing by rail. This project was transacted via the company’s own terminal in Chernyakhovsk near Kaliningrad (Russia), which is designed for both European and Russian railway wagons. With the new hybrid concept, ARS Altmann now offers a further solution on the New Silk Road, which is becoming more and more important.

– Customers benefit from the advantages of rail transport with more reliable and shorter throughput times and far greater sustainability and climate compatibility compared to sea freight with both solutions – Frank Lehner, Director Internationalisation at ARS Altmann AG, said.

The route between China and Europe runs via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland, with a journey of 18 days, depending on the destination.

ARS Altmann is currently in talks with other potential customers from Europe, China, Korea and Russia to transport their products using rail transport.