• LeveragingChina Railway (Xi'an-Germany) Express, the new route from Xi'an, China toHamburg and Neuss, Germany cuts transport time from 17 to approximately 10-12days
• Newservice extends DHL's Belt and Road multimodal logistics offerings

SHANGHAI, CHINA - Media OutReach - 4 November 2019 - DHLGlobal Forwarding and Xi'an International Inland Port Investment &Development Group Co. Ltd have launched the fastest rail service fromXi'an in China to Hamburg and Neuss in Germanytoday, cutting transit time from 17 to between 10 and 12 days. 

Thenew express rail service is the first-of-its-kind in the market to break newground in the speed and efficiency of China-Europe rail freight, shorteningtotal transit time by travelling through the Mamonovo-Branieworailway border between Russia andPoland.

Source: DHL

"Xi'anis at the heart of the New Silk Road economic belt, taking on the sameimportant role as it once did during the ancient route of Marco Polo's era,"said Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding China. "A foreign investment and manufacturing hubthat has seen exports increase in 2018 by 29% year-on-year,the city today is a thriving international center with high-quality productioncapabilities in pillar industries like mechanicals, electronics, bio-pharmaceuticalsand automobile manufacturing. By boostinggreater agility whilst offering the express rail service at reasonable costs, DHLGlobal Forwarding seeks to connect these fast-evolving industries to risingdemand and market opportunities in Europe."

With trade between the two regions averaging€1 billion a day and slated to grow, China remains the European Union's secondbiggest trading partner, accounting for the region's biggest source of importsand its second-biggest source of exports. Equally, special economic zones inGreater Xi'an are attracting growing foreign investments as the city positionsitself as a hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G infrastructure and cloudcomputing to enhance its manufacturing capabilities. Xi'an is home to over 100enterprises specializing in AI, bringing in a total revenue of CN¥10 billion (€1.3 billion),while global and local companies have agreed to invest CN¥214 billion yuan (€27.5 billion)in the city's digital development.

"Over the past four months, we have beenworking closely with DHL to testand start this express line. Both teams have showed a tremendously high degreeof enthusiasm and professionalism," said Qu Jinwei, General Manager, Xi'anInternational Inland Port Investment & Development Group Co. Ltd. "Asnext steps, we will strive to make this express rail freight a success. Usingthe development model of 'hub and industry integration', we will leverage thisservice to strengthen the collaboration between the region's manufacturing andtrading sectors with international logistics. This would attract moreindustries to our region, fortifying their capabilities to gather resourcesfrom international supply chains and sharpening their competitive edges."

Thenew rail service takes an approximate 9,400-km route through Kazakhstan,Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania to Kaliningrad Oblast, a part of the RussianFederation on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, before entering the EuropeanUnion via the Mamonovo-Braniewo crossing. The final stretch of the route crossesPoland into Germany to the port city of Hamburg, and to Neuss, an importantlogistics hub on the Rhine River across Düsseldorf. Traversing numerouscountries, the fastest rail service between China and Germany was created withthe support of China Railway, Belintertrans, RTSB Gmbh and UTLC -- Eurasian RailAlliance.

The Xi'an-Germany express rail connectionwill offer customers real-time milestone visibility, using GPS tracking ofshipments, via the iSee software platform -- giving shippers door-to-doorvisibility and insight into any shipping exceptions as soon as they occur.

DHL Global Forwarding recently opened twoRail Competence Centers in Le Havre, France and Felixstowe, UK in response togrowing demand for rail freight services along the New Silk Road, and tocomplement its existing Rail Competence Centers, including four in China.

Note to editors:

Rail has re-emerged as a viable optionfor trans-Eurasian freight, while air and road freight are being developedalong the Belt and Road Initiative. Together, they form the basis for a newmultimodal shipping platform that is disrupting supply chains. Find out which multimodal transport hubs are changingthe way goods are being moved and distributed across Eurasia.

Snapshot:DHL Global Forwarding's Multimodal Freight Network along China's Belt and RoadInitiative

As the pioneer in innovative multimodalshipping solutions from China to Europe, DHL has been offering a suite ofinnovative and flexible multimodal solutions since 2010, which connects Chinesemainland, Taiwan China, Japan and Southeast Asia to Europe.

• WestCorridor: Fastest connection between Europe, and new emerging inland Chinesehubs of Chengdu and Xi'an among others; supporting high-tech, automotive, andretail manufacturers located in Western China with cost-effective access intoEuropean markets
• NorthCorridor: From China's Eastern & Southern coast via Trans-Siberian Railwayto Moscow, and further to Poland and Germany; it connects China's engineeringand manufacturing hubs in Yangtze & Pearl River deltas to pan-Europeandemand in 18-20 days
• SouthCorridor: Traverses three Central Asian countries -- Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, andGeorgia -- as well as Caspian Sea before arriving at Istanbul in 12-14 days
• Seatransit: Connecting Japan, Korea and Taiwan China to Chinese mainland via ferryservices, for onward journey to Europe; as well as Shanghai to Europe viaPiraeus, Greece
• Roadconnection: linking manufacturing base in Vietnam, and South East Asia toEurope via China

DHL – The logistics company for the world

portfolio oflogistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery,e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, airand ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 380,000employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connectspeople and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global trade flows. Withspecialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology,life sciences and healthcare, energy, automotive and retail, a provencommitment to corporate responsibility and an unrivalled presence in developingmarkets, DHL is decisively positioned as "The logistics company for the world".

DHL is part ofDeutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 61 billioneuros in 2018.

About Xi'an InternationalInland Port Investment & Development Group - To become a leading internationalinland port group

Established inJune 2009, Xi'an International Inland Port Investment & Development GroupCo. Ltd. is a large state-owned enterprise approved by the Xi'an MunicipalPeople's Government and invested by the Xi'an International Port ManagementCommittee.  It is responsible for theinvestment, construction and operation of the "Xi'an Port" project.Its subsidiary, Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd,is appointed by China State Railway Group to operate the China-Europe RailwayExpress (Xi'an). The company is also one of the starting members of theChina-Europe Railway Express Transportation Coordination Committee.