DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist within Deutsche Post DHL, is to form a new strategic partnership to develop rail forwarding services on the China-Europe route with United Transport and Logistics Company (UTLC). UTLC, which is expected to be established later in 2014, is a joint-venture partnership between OJSC Russian Railways, JSC National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and State enterprise Belarusian Railway. UTLC will operate as an integrated provider of logistics and container rail transportation services between Europe and China. DHL Global Forwarding signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Moscow in March with the ‘Project office of UTLC’ (PO UTLC) ahead of the official incorporation of UTLC.

Steve Huang, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding China, who signed the MOU, said: “The potential for rail freight growth between Asia and Europe is huge but to grow it successfully requires high-level strategic partnerships such as the one we’ve established between DHL Global Forwarding and UTLC. To encourage clients to enjoy the benefits of rail on these routes, we need services that are frequent, fast and reliable in terms of both delivery times and pricing. Our partnership leverages both groups’ strengths to accelerate the development of rail forwarding services on the China-Europe-China route with UTLC providing all rail services in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and DHL providing third party logistics and door-to-door delivery. For our customers, it will mean a one-stop, one price service.”

The DHL-UTLC partnership is committed to developing rail forwarding services between China and Europe by providing regular services to customers with a container delivery time of three weeks door-to-door.

Zhanar Rymzhanova, CEO, PO UTLC, who co-signed the MOU on behalf of three railways, said: “One of the project goals is to promote best client-oriented services. UTLC will be responsible for operating station-to-station rail service, including procurement of the rolling stock, and all related services on the route and well as pricing. UTLC transit product will be based on guaranteed train schedule. With weekly departures, there’s a great opportunity for development of transit potential of wide gauge track countries with cargo originating in China and Europe.”

The MOU augments DHL Global Forwarding’s growing Asia-Europe rail solutions. DHL Global Forwarding runs a daily service – departing, for example, from Shanghai, Tianjin or Qingdao and running along the trans-Siberian North corridor to Europe – with a slightly longer transit time compared to the West corridor, and a weekly China-Europe rail service launched last year along China’s West corridor using the Chengdu Express Train, dubbed the fastest rail connection between China and Europe. The block train starts in Chengdu, China and runs along China’s West corridor to DHL’s intermodal hub in Małaszewicze and Lodz, Poland.

In January, DHL Global Forwarding introduced the first temperature-controlled China-Europe rail service. Powered by a diesel-electric engine, DHL containers allow internal temperatures to be controlled, tracked and remotely modified. This provides an all-year round multi-modal shipping solution for temperature sensitive products, historically unable to use the fast and cost-effective trans-continental West rail corridor during the harsh winter and hot summer months.

DHL Global Forwarding provides a one-stop shop service in air and ocean freight, domestic transportation, multimodal transportation, project and charting and logistics management services through modularized service offerings and extensive network coverage.