Hellmann with Train Connection between Bremen and Chongqing

Since mid-January, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics has been operating a weekly regular train on the New Silk Road between Chongqing and Bremen. The first train arrived on Friday, January 21, at the terminal of the Roland Umschlagsgesellschaft in Bremen, where it was welcomed by Dr. Claudia Schilling, Senator for Science and Ports of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Jens Wollesen, COO of Hellmann, and Christoph Holtkemper, Managing Director of the Roland Umschlagsgesellschaft.

(Osnabrück/Bremen) With the new connection, Hellmann is responding to the increased demand for train connections between Europe and Asia and offers customers a sustainable alternative to the routes already offered since 2013 between Duisburg and Hamburg to and from Chongqing. Upon arrival in Bremen, the train is loaded with various goods from the clothing, automotive, and high-tech industries. Currently, finished vehicles are being transported from Bremen to China. In the medium term, the trains, which carry 44 containers and take about 20 days in both directions, are scheduled to depart three times a week from Bremen and Chongqing. To enhance service quality, Hellmann is currently expanding the hinterland transport in Asia in collaboration with the Chinese train operator Yuxinou and is intensifying the connections from Chongqing to Southeast Asian countries such as Laos or Vietnam. At the same time, the connections within Germany and Europe are also being further expanded in cooperation with the Roland Umschlagsgesellschaft. This means that in addition to the existing daily connections between the GVZ in Bremen to Verona and Stuttgart, different terminals in Southern and Eastern Europe are to be connected in the future.

“Due to the current challenges in the sea and air freight sector, transport on the New Silk Road is increasingly in demand, which in turn is leading to bottlenecks on the existing train routes. By expanding our transcontinental network, we relieve pressure on the existing routes and offer customers from all industries another fast and reliable connection between Asia and Europe,” said Jens Wollesen, Chief Operating Officer, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

Bremen Ports Integrated into the Silk Road

“With a regular train connection from the world’s largest city, Chongqing, directly to Bremen, the Bremen ports are now integrated into the Silk Road. The rail services along the Silk Road are an ideal complement for our ports, as they complete the logistical range of air transport and shipping services,” said Dr. Claudia Schilling, Senator for Science and Ports of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

Photo: © Hellmann / Caption: Chen Si Hellmann, Jens Wollesen, Dr. Claudia Schilling, and Christoph Holtkemper (from left to right) welcome the first train from Chongqing in Bremen.