Damco’s first China to Europe blocktrain has arrived in France, carrying a consignment of goods for sports equipment retailer Decathlon.

Damco said the journey was about 20 days faster than the average ocean transit time.

“This project is born out of our wish to develop a more sustainable and faster transportation solutions. It also contributes to the development of the local economy and improves the availability of our products to our clients,” said Christophe Dupas, Decathlon's Logistics manager.

 

“We are pleased we have been able to put together this solution for Decathlon ... that has produced immediate benefits on a logistics and economic level,” added Kasper Krog, head of rail at Damco.

 

The 10,815km journey was through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and Belgium on what is known as the ‘New Silk Road’ land bridge route.

Damco uses GPS tracking to provide shippers with “up-to-the-minute visibility on their goods”, it said.