The History of the Silk Road

As early as 200 B.C. In the 4th century BC, goods were transported from China to Europe on the Silk Road. The term “Silk Road” only became public in the 19th century and it was only because of this that it became widely known. At the beginning, the goods on this route mostly traveled on camels and took 2 years to arrive in Venice. This journey was also dangerous because it involved crossing deserts and overcoming mountain ranges. The city of Xi'an marked the beginning of the main route of the Silk Road, which led via Anxi and Samarkand to Damascus and then via Byzantium to Venice. But Alexandria in Egypt and Machtura in India were also connected to the Silk Road via branch lines. From the 15th century onwards, the sea route from Asia to Europe was added; The Hanseatic League guarded its ships by sea and the goods arrived more safely in Europe, which led to the heyday of the Hanseatic League. Back then, a cog could load around 90 tons, whereas a camel could only load 250 kg. Even though a caravan could indeed consist of over 1,000 animals, it could not transport the number that a group of several cogs could load and transport. Especially since on the Silk Road it could not be guaranteed that all animals would survive the arduous overland journey.

Due to the greater quantity that could be transported and the lack of intermediaries on the water, the sea route rivaled the Silk Road and trade via the arduous route through deserts and over mountains ceased in the mid-16th century.

Revival of the Silk Road

Efforts to revitalize the Silk Road began in the mid-20th century, but it is only since 2013 that these efforts have really gained momentum with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since then, railway lines, roads and paths have been repaired and rebuilt under the motto “One Belt, one road”. Investments in seaports are also purchased. Because the concept of the new Silk Road is no longer based only on the land route, but the sea route will also remain important for China's trade with the rest of the world. The overland route of the Silk Road consists of 2 main routes, of which only the northern route reaches Europe. This northern route leads from Shanghai via Ulan Bator, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Moscow to Minsk, Hamburg, Duisburg and finally to Rotterdam. Trains have been running directly from Bremerhaven to China since 2019. The southern route, which is still under construction, begins in Ningbo and then continues at the original start of the Silk Road in Xi'an. The Chinese cities of Urumqi and Korgas are also connected to the southern route, which continues to Tehran and Istanbul, via Belgrade and Budapest to Paris and finally to Marseille and Madrid. The area between the northern and southern routes is supplied via branch routes and the port of Gwadar in Pakistan is also connected to the southern route of the Silk Road.

Regular connection via the Silk Road for 10 years

Since 2012, Germany has also become part of the Silk Road with the port in Duisburg and the routes are constantly being expanded. From Bremerhaven, for example, cars have been regularly sent by train to China since 2019 and from January 2022 until the conflict in Ukraine there was also a regular freight train from Bremen to Chongqing in China. While there were between 40 and 80 trips in the first few years, last year the number increased to almost 15,000 trains . However, due to the conflict in Eastern Europe, the previously continuous increase in train journeys between Europe and China has declined slightly.

In ancient times, goods such as silk, tea or spices were transported from China to Europe, but now it is storage media, consumer electronics and clothing that reach us from the land of the rising sun. In return, we export finished motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts, as well as chemical products, to China. In the past, raw materials such as wool traveled from Europe to China.

Comparison

Corona caused traffic jams in many ports, so that the traffic jams continue to this day and are only slowly being reduced. Here the rail connection via the new Silk Road has a clear advantage because the rail does not have to be laboriously unloaded, as is the case with a container ship. The wagons can easily be uncoupled. This process also requires fewer personnel than unloading a ship. Losses due to illness can also be better compensated for during shunting work than in the port, because it is more difficult to find a replacement for a crane driver if he is absent than for a railway worker on the railway. The issue of personnel itself is also a factor in which rail transport performs better. In freight transport, two train drivers are required for transport. Things are different in shipping, as it has to be taken into account that there are no supermarkets at sea and you have to take care of yourself on board. Consequently, it is not enough to have a captain and a first officer to drive a ship safely from port to port. Even if there is a breakdown on the water, you cannot call a breakdown service that will be there within an hour. This is then reflected in the personnel requirements.

However, there are also traffic jams on the railways, because China and Europe have a different railway track width than Russia and Belarus. There are also waiting times at the crossings if there is enough traffic. However, there are already successful efforts to create more border crossings so that #frictionlesslogistics can take place here too.

Conclusion

Basically, it should be noted that the new Silk Road certainly represents an alternative to the sea route from Asia to Europe. The goods arrive via the new Silk Road on average 1-2 weeks earlier than if they were transported by ship. Environmental protection and climate change should not be ignored either. A freight train from China has a significantly lower environmental impact than a container ship. Here we deliberately do not look at the CO² footprint per ton, because surprisingly a container ship performs just as well as a freight train. But if you look at all parameters such as the fuel or the overall exhaust emissions with its soot particles and other pollutants, the ratio changes in favor of the train.

It is currently worth reporting that the situation in Ukraine is setting back the new Silk Road project. On the one hand, the Russian operator Russian Railways RZD is under Western sanctions and on the other hand, transport can no longer be routed through Ukraine because parts of the Ukrainian rail network have been destroyed. In principle, however, the transit goods transport business remains permitted provided that no sanctioned actors are commissioned. Of course, safety issues when transporting through Russian territory are also relevant in this context. Goods that are supposed to reach Europe via these routes could well be held in the sanctioned countries as a means of exerting pressure. However, we have not been able to observe anything of the same since then.

New Silk Road with future prospects

The long-term effects are still uncertain due to the situation in Ukraine and Russia's behavior. However, it is and remains of central importance that economic exchange with China must be maintained. So when the sanctions are lifted and all damage is repaired, the new Silk Road can fundamentally be an environmentally friendly and fast alternative to sea freight. Project visions of trains that could transport goods on this route at over 350 km/h show previously unimaginable possibilities that could lie ahead in the future.

We are following this development with interest and, in the meantime, use our know-how and commitment to ensure continued #smoothlogistics for our customers; both by rail, truck and sea transport.