Which is cheaper, rail or sea?

There is no single answer, and anyone who gives you one has not costed your shipment. Rail and sea rates converge and diverge from one season to the next. What decides it is the volume and the delivery point: when the destination is the port itself, the sea leg has no overland continuation; when the goods go inland, a long overland leg is added to the sea freight and has to go into the comparison. What has to be compared is the whole route to your warehouse, not the rate for one leg.

How long does a container take by rail?

Transit time depends on when the factory is ready, the departure schedule, the queue at the crossing and how long clearance takes. The spread between a quiet period and the weeks before Chinese New Year is wider than the average figure itself, which is why an average only misleads. We give an estimate for your route together with a list of what can move it.

Can we send less than a full container?

Yes — that is groupage: your cargo shares a container with other consignments. It suits smaller volumes: you pay for the space the cargo takes up rather than for the whole container. The trade-off is that groupage depends on consolidation: the container leaves when it is full, and that adds time at the start of the route.

Why are the containers moved onto different wagons?

China and the CIS use different track gauges, so at the crossing the containers are lifted from Chinese wagons onto local ones. It is a routine operation and the cargo is not opened. Delays at the border come from the queue of trains and from customs control, not from the transfer itself.

Should we clear at the border or inland?

It depends on where your warehouse is and what the goods are. Clearing at the border shortens the time under customs control; clearing inland is easier logistically and leaves room to prepare the documents. We cost both and show you the difference in money and in days.

Mode

Rail freight from China

The container travels overland through the border crossings, with no port handling and no waiting at anchorage. The practical option for regular shipments into inland Russia and Central Asia.

Price a shipment All modes

01 — Starting points

When rail is the answer

We ship every month and we need a schedule we can plan around.
Sea is too slow, air doesn't pay for itself. We need something in between.
The cargo goes inland — a port gets us nowhere.
We can't fill a container. Can we still send part of one?
We got stuck in a port last time and would rather avoid the sea.

02 — What is included

What we take on

01Choosing the set-upFull container or a share of one, which crossing, which departure terminal. The decision is worked out for your shipment rather than taken out of habit.
02Collection and consolidationWe collect at the factory and, where there are several suppliers, bring the batches together and load one container under a single set of documents.
03Export clearance in ChinaDeclaration, invoice, packing list, certificate of origin — put together on the ground, in Chinese, before anything moves.
04Tracking in transitWe track the shipment and flag delays ourselves. You hear about a queue at the crossing from us, not by asking where the cargo is.
05Customs and deliveryImport clearance into the EAEU, duties and taxes, release, and the final leg from the terminal to your address.

03 — What we do not do

The limits of this mode

We do not take cargo that cannot stand the journeyPerishables without refrigeration, goods with a tight temperature range, certain classes of dangerous goods. If rail is wrong for your cargo we will say so and point you to another mode.
We do not promise an arrival dateThe route has variables nobody controls: the queue at the crossing, the weather, a random inspection. We give you an estimate and warn you when it moves, but we do not sell certainty that does not exist.
We do not take out-of-gauge cargo without assessing it firstAnything outside a standard container needs its own answer: a flat wagon, securing, approvals. We do handle it, but it has to be costed up front and it is priced differently.
We do not file paperwork after the factThe export declaration and the permits are prepared before departure. A container that leaves without them creates a problem on entry into the EAEU rather than solving one.

04 — How a shipment runs

What happens to the container

A rail shipment is built from legs, and each leg has its own paperwork. Time goes at the handovers: the next leg does not start until the one before it is closed out.

01Collection at the factoryRoad haulage from the plant to the departure terminal, or to a consolidation warehouse if the shipment is groupage. A short leg, but the rest of the chain hangs on it: if the factory is not ready on the date, the container misses the train it was planned onto.
02Loading and export clearanceThe container is loaded and sealed, and the export declaration is filed. The paperwork is assembled here, before departure, rather than chased afterwards.
03DepartureThe container goes onto a scheduled train. Departures are not daily, and making the next one depends on the documents being ready.
04The border crossingAt the border the train is inspected and the containers are transhipped: China and the CIS run different track gauges, so the boxes are lifted onto local wagons. A routine operation, but the queue at the crossing is the main source of delay.
05The leg inside the EAEUThe train runs to the destination station or to a terminal where the container is lifted off. From there the cargo goes on by road to your address.
06Import clearance and releaseDeclaration, duties and taxes, release. Clearance can be done at the border or at an inland customs office near your warehouse — both have their merits, and we cost both.

05 — Responsibility

Who is responsible for what

We are responsible for organising the shipment and for the paperwork. The carrier is responsible for the cargo in transit, under the terms of carriage and the cargo insurance.

On us

Choosing the set-up, the terminal and the crossing
Export clearance and the document set
The handovers between legs and tracking
Import clearance and delivery to the warehouse

On you

The consignment being ready on the agreed date
Accurate cargo data: weight, volume, contents
The decision on cargo insurance

06 — Alongside

What people look at with this

07 — Questions

What people ask about rail

Which is cheaper, rail or sea?
There is no single answer, and anyone who gives you one has not costed your shipment. Rail and sea rates converge and diverge from one season to the next. What decides it is the volume and the delivery point: when the destination is the port itself, the sea leg has no overland continuation; when the goods go inland, a long overland leg is added to the sea freight and has to go into the comparison. What has to be compared is the whole route to your warehouse, not the rate for one leg.
How long does a container take by rail?
Transit time depends on when the factory is ready, the departure schedule, the queue at the crossing and how long clearance takes. The spread between a quiet period and the weeks before Chinese New Year is wider than the average figure itself, which is why an average only misleads. We give an estimate for your route together with a list of what can move it.
Can we send less than a full container?
Yes — that is groupage: your cargo shares a container with other consignments. It suits smaller volumes: you pay for the space the cargo takes up rather than for the whole container. The trade-off is that groupage depends on consolidation: the container leaves when it is full, and that adds time at the start of the route.
Why are the containers moved onto different wagons?
China and the CIS use different track gauges, so at the crossing the containers are lifted from Chinese wagons onto local ones. It is a routine operation and the cargo is not opened. Delays at the border come from the queue of trains and from customs control, not from the transfer itself.
Should we clear at the border or inland?
It depends on where your warehouse is and what the goods are. Clearing at the border shortens the time under customs control; clearing inland is easier logistically and leaves room to prepare the documents. We cost both and show you the difference in money and in days.

Let us quote your rail shipment

Tell us what you are shipping, the weight and volume, where in China it ships from and where it needs to go. We will come back with a set-up, a cost and an estimate of transit time.

Describe the cargo +7 861 217-96-98