Operating on a non-scheduled basis at present, it offers the possibility for ocean freight collected from major ports in China and overland cargo to be loaded directly on to trains and shipped to countries such as Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Germany and Hungary via Alashankou and Manzhouli in Chinese-controlled areas of Mongolia.

"More and more Chinese companies are looking at opportunities in overseas markets and one of our key strategies in China is to support our local clients for their global expansion," says Gefco China's managing director, Andrea Ambrogio.

Gefco emphasises that customers can take advantage of lead-time savings of over 50% compared to ocean freight. In general, it takes 18-28 days from China to Europe by rail, compared to 45-60 days by sea.

Gefco, which became part of the Russian Railways group (RZD) in 2012, backs up the new trans-border rail route with a "reliable, efficient and seamless Customs service across Russia" based on the company's "outstanding" Customs and VAT expertise.

Highlighting the significant reductions in transit times offered by the rail service over ocean freight, Gefco China's overseas business development director, Michael Zhang, said it used to take 60 days for one of the company's clients - a leading Chinese automotive manufacturer - to transport spare parts from the nort-east Chinese city of Harbin to Cherkessk, in Russia, by ocean, "while it only needs 23 days in total by using our rail transportation solution."

Gefco also supports one international consumer goods company to transport cargo from the Chinese port of Dalian to Hamburg via Manzhouli "in only 26 days,"
Zhang added.

On arriving in Hamburg, the cargo can be shipped directly to its final destination in the UK.

In order to reduce the gap between rates on the rail freight service and those for ocean shipping, Gefco is working on solutions to develop backflow traffic from Europe to China as currently trains often return empty.

However, the company believes that, as trade gathers momentum, more products from Europe, especially high value goods such as automobiles and electronics, will be exported to China by rail in the coming years.