International rail traffic continues / Shanghai-Duisburg currently in 18 days

Basel, March 16, 2022. The Group of European TransEurasia Operators and Forwarders (GETO) is concerned that the Ukraine conflict could have a negative impact on the Eurasian transit corridor. This could disrupt critical supply chains and eliminate thousands of jobs.

In GETO's opinion, there is a significant risk that the Ukraine conflict will cause irreparable damage both to the entrepreneurial activities of member companies and to markets and customers. The years of development work on the Eurasian corridor could be irrevocably undone.

The main priority of GETO and its members is to maintain their own service offer, especially for Europe, as long as possible. As far as possible, the task is to create the conditions for the Eurasian corridor to be able to be rebuilt and developed even after a possible collapse of the market, after having been developed in many hours of work and detailed plans that have been worked out and adopted.

Climate-friendly and reliable freight transport by rail is becoming increasingly important for global supply chains. Compared with airplanes, rail produces around 95 percent fewer CO2 emissions and almost 70 percent fewer than trucks. Container ships have comparable emissions, but are much slower.

"For the economic zones of Europe, Central Asia and China, the Eurasian corridor is of huge strategic importance. Rail transport is fast, environmentally friendly and, above all, cheaper than air transport with currently almost the same transit time. This has had a positive impact, especially during the pandemic with its global repercussions. Freight transport on block trains has achieved growth despite the Corona pandemic and thus made a significant contribution to the stability of trade between China and Europe. The Ukraine conflict is jeopardizing the successes achieved. GETO demands from its international partners to contribute everything in their power to preserve the corridor ", demands Harm Sievers, President of GETO. Sievers continues, "GETO partners contribute to the continued existence of the Eurasian Corridor as an excellent logistics product and an important lifeline for European industry, contributing to intercultural coexistence."

Source The Group of European TransEurasia Operators and Forwarders (GETO).