Trans-Asia rail test train arrives five days early

Trans-Asia rail test train arrives five days early    A test run of a freight train crossing Asia to Europe — a new silk road of sorts — seems to be an overwhelming success after the train arrived five days early into Hamburg on its journey from Beijing.
   The train, which involved collaboration between railways of six nations — China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany — is being proposed as an alternative to the traditional ocean shipping route from the Far East to Northern Europe. More specifically, the rail route would be nearly twice as fast in terms of transit time. The pilot test included a train carrying 100 TEUs of mostly electrical goods and clothes.
   “This can be seen as a breakthrough in our cooperation,” news outlets quoted Zheng Mingli, chairman of China Railway Container Transport, as the first train began its journey two weeks ago. “Barring any complications, a scheduled container train should be shuttling between China and Germany in a year’s time.”
   The success of the pilot test seems to be tempered only by worries of European rail officials that cross-border customs interactions may not be so smooth when the route is in full swing.
   Goods could sit in railway sidings “sometimes for a week if the customs officials are so minded,” the Telegraph quoted Luc Aliadiere, chief executive of the Paris-based International Union of Railways.
   Nevertheless, the successful test should make shippers happy that a viable alternative to ocean freight between Asia and Europe may soon exist.