Rail freight transit through Russia to the EU is nearly back at its pre-war level. As Houthi attacks endanger shipping on the Red Sea, shippers are looking for alternative routes. Consequently, the volume of China-EU freight that travels via Russian rail grew by 44 per cent in 2024.
According to Russian media, the volume of Chinese goods transiting Russia towards the EU has grown by 44 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. Subsequently, the volume has grown to nearly its pre-war level.
The deputy manager of Russian Railways (RZD), Aleksey Shilo, acknowledged that the increase in the transit volume is primarily thanks to the situation in the Red Sea. Houthi rebels have been attacking container ships on the maritime route, which they say is in protest against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Alternative route
Consequently, shippers have been looking for alternative routes. They have found a financially attractive alternative in Russian rail. “The Russian corridor was built a long enough time ago, it is technologically the most developed and the time to transport goods from China’s border to the EU is currently 5 to 7 days. This is 3 to 5 times faster than how our colleagues transported goods previously,” says Shilo.
“We transported almost 90 thousand TEU,” he adds. This is nearly as much as what RZD transported in Chinese transit goods during a quarter before the war. At the time, this number amounted to 105,8 thousand TEU.
Pavel Ivankin, president of the Transportation and Infrastructure Research Center, disputes the idea that the renewed growth is primarily due to the Red Sea attacks. He foresees a growth of over fifty per cent on the route throughout 2024.
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