Dachser has organised the transportation of chemical products to China by block train along the New Silk Road on behalf of BASF. The train of 42 containers carrying BASF products arrived in the Chinese city of Xi´an. Dachser took care of all organisational aspects—including coordination with train operator RTSB, customs clearance, and distribution of the goods in China.
Starting at the KTL Kombi-Terminal Ludwigshafen and making its way to China via Poland, Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan, the block train’s journey took 14 days. Dachser has stated that rail transport via the “New Silk Road” is particularly interesting for chemical companies whose production sites are located in rural areas of China, far away from the seaports.
The KTL terminal in Ludwigshafen plays a key role in BASF’s logistics concept. It serves as a hub, where BASF bundles European cargo and loads the containers onto the trains. Germany’s largest inland terminal is directly adjacent to BASF’s main plant. Up to 30 trains bound for over 20 economic centres across Europe depart from the terminal every day.
Because rail gauges vary in size along the route, the containers are reloaded onto different trains in the Polish village of Małaszewicze and at the Kazakh border with China. Measuring some 40 ft in height, the cube containers are loaded primarily with granulates, fuel additives, and catalysts. The train’s final destination was the city of Xi’an in central China.
From there, Dachser North China handled customs clearance and distribution of the BASF goods to their recipients by truck. In the start-up phase, more train departures from Ludwigshafen to Xi`an are scheduled.
Dachser has been collaborating with BASF for several decades to transport palleted chemical products within Europe and store them safely. Dachser operates two warehouses for hazardous materials: one in Hungary and one in Romania.
Source: Dachser
