• Full local presence in Shanghai from the beginning of 2023
• Expansion of the position in Eurasia
• Strengthening the Middle Corridor of the New Silk Road

Vienna

The ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has strengthened its market position in Eurasia at the beginning of 2023 with the foundation of Rail Cargo International Freight Forwarding in Shanghai. Direct marketing of in-house logistics services in China is now possible for RCG for the first time with its full local presence.

RCG Spokesman of the Board, Clemens Först emphasises: “The new RCG company in Shanghai strengthens our distribution activities whilst reducing dependence on external partners in China. This is of paramount importance as business in China is almost solely concluded on site”, and adds: “Furthermore, we also want to build on our successful development along the New Silk Road by pushing for routes via the Middle Corridor.”

Benefits of local RCG presence in Shanghai
With their new subsidiary in China, the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group can now provide all services in the logistics value chain, along with additional freight forwarding add-ons in Asia – from trucking to customs clearance, transshipment etc. – from a single, in-house source. Amongst other things, this simplifies access to customers, local partners, and payment transactions.

Establishing the Middle Corridor as an alternative
The RCG network (TransNET) now expands across the entire Eurasian continent as far as China. The North Corridor (from China via Russia to Central and Southeastern Europe) was used for transportation along the New Silk Road until the Ukraine war broke out. The Middle Corridor has been used by the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group as an alternative since March 2022 (which runs through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan/Georgia and across the Black Sea to Romania, before continuing on to Central and Southeastern Europe). RCG can offer a reliable alternative to sea and air freight with attractive transit times. It also makes it possible for customers to bypass the loading and unloading ports, which are still heavily congested. 

RCG has been active to and from Asia since 2008
Rail freight services have increased steadily since RCG activities began with the first test train in 2008. By the end of 2016, the number of departures along the Silk Road was gradually increased, and in 2017 RCG officially entered the Chinese market. RCG runs around 600 locomotives along the routes of the New Silk Road annually.

Rail Cargo Group: the freight transport division of the ÖBB 
As a leading rail logistics company in Europe, we are shaping the industry. 365 days a year – 24 hours a day. Across Europe and beyond into Asia. We connect people, businesses and markets – from the first to the last mile. We are present in 18 countries – in 15 of them with our own employees. It’s thanks to our 5,755 logistics professionals from 34 nations that 463,000 trains a year, respectively 1,270 a day, reach their destinations safe and sound. With our efficient end-to-end logistics services, we transport 94 million net tonnes of freight each year. A modal share of 28 % (preliminary value) of the total freight market in Austria makes us top of the league in Europe. Operational management of the Rail Cargo Group lies with Rail Cargo Austria AG. 

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