GEFCO will offset the 250 tons of CO2 generated from this door-to-door service by investing in Gold Standard certified projects. In addition, the train will be equipped Internet of Things (IoT) devices to guarantee track and trace, temperature control and product integrity during transit.

Alice Defranoux, Rail Manager at GEFCO, commented: “We are pleased to partner with our longstanding customer to provide this milestone carbon-neutral train. Market demand is increasing for more climate-friendly solutions, especially in long-distance transportation. At GEFCO, we calculate the environmental impact of our solutions, re-engineer them to minimize emissions and propose offsetting solutions for any remaining carbon. Rail is a very good way to achieve reduced carbon emissions.”

The three-week journey on the New Silk Road includes travel from Slovakia to Brest- Małaszewicze at the Polish-Belorussian border, where the goods will be transferred from European to Russian rail wagons to adapt to the 1.52m rail gauge. The block train will then travel through Belarus and Russia and arrive at Alashankou-Dostyk in Kazakhstan, a major link in the Eurasian Land Bridge on the border with Xinjiang, the port of entry into China. The goods will then be loaded on Chinese wagons before their final delivery in Xi’an.

GEFCO Rail Services

GEFCO is a major player on the European rail market, operating more than 100 block trains per week with a dedicated fleet of 4,000 wagons. The GEFCO rail team based in Russia, Asia and Europe operate more than 1,000 TEUs per month on the intercontinental market with a booming activity on the corridor between Europe and Asia. In 2021, volumes of containers on the New Silk Road have doubled compared to 2020 with strong market demand for GEFCO’s tracking system and innovative routings through Trans-Siberian ports.