Container train carrying IT products departs from Xiangtang in China; freight shipment across the Eurasian Landbridge expected to arrive in Germany in 17 days.

In Xiangtang, some 700 kilometers north of Hong Kong, a container train left on its way to Germany. The Fujitsu Siemens Computers Company train, carrying 50 containers, is transporting high-end IT products, such as monitors and chassis manufactured in China for the Munich-based company, to Hamburg.

The train, for which DB Schenker is responsible in collaboration with the Russian Railways RZD and the Chinese Railways, is expected to arrive there on October 6, after completing the 10,000-kilometer journey in 17 days.

Heribert G'ggerle, Senior Vice-President Supply Operations at Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC): 'Shipping IT products by rail is more flexible and around one third faster than by ocean freight. And compared with airfreight, we save around one quarter of the costs with a 95% reduction in CO2 emissions. This shows that rail is the best choice ' both economically and ecologically."

Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the first company to decide in favor of this method of shipment, since the trans-Eurasian Landbridge offers the forward looking combination of speed and environmental friendliness, and thus supports the company's goal of marketing products that are as environmentally friendly as possible in terms of both production and logistics.

'With Fujitsu Siemens Computers, a company has commissioned us for the first time to take a complete trainload on the land route from China to Germany. We intend to continually develop our concept of company trains, because this is a future-compatible supplement for our customers to ocean and air freight," says Hartmut Albers, Managing Director of Trans Eurasia Logistics at DB Schenker. 'At the same time, this train marks our entry into regular scheduled operations on this key transit corridor: we are planning to introduce the Trans-Eurasia Express' in the next month. This will be a weekly service between China and Germany with trains departing from both countries."

The train travels through China and Mongolia, and crosses the border to Russia near Irkutsk. It then continues along the route taken by the Trans-Siberian Railway via Novosibirsk, Omsk, Ekaterinburg to Moscow.

From there it travels through Belarus and Poland on its way to Germany.

On arrival in Hamburg, the 50 containers will be forwarded in two directions: the monitors will continue by train to FSC's European distribution centre in Worms, while the chassis will be taken directly to the assembly plant in Augsburg, where PCs and servers are produced.

Around 60% of Fujitsu Siemens Computers products are manufactured in Germany.