Davies Turner recently announced that its fixed-day, weekly direct rail import service from China to the UK will re-commence in mid-March.

“In keeping with normal practice, our Express China Rail Service did not operate during the Chinese New Year holiday break and its suspension has been further extended due to the Covid-19 coronavirus,” said Tony Cole, head of Supply Chain Services at Davies Turner. “With Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic, continuing to be under lockdown and the re-opening of factories there recently postponed until March 11th, the rail service will now depart from the Xi’an rail hub, directly into Duisburg in Germany. Containers will be then trucked under bond to the port of Rotterdam and transported by ferry to Purfleet, on the River Thames for on-carriage by truck to Davies Turner’s distribution centre, near Dartford, east of London, where they will be discharged, customs cleared and delivered.”

From March 13th, Davies Turner plans initially to offer a single weekly departure, but this could rise to twice-weekly departures, depending on demand. The transit time between Xi’an and Duisburg is approximately 18 days.

“At this time, we have rail bookings to hand which relate to frames for glasses, plastic film, metal parts, tooling, as well as fashion goods; but our closing date for receipt of cargo for the initial departure from Xi’an is not until March 9th, and therefore we expect further bookings to be received,” said Cole.

About Davies Turner

Our mission, quite simply, is to satisfy the international freight and supply chain needs of our clients. This has remained a constant ambition since our foundation in 1870. We continue to take pride in providing a professional and award-winning portfolio of services that are reliable, time/cost-effective, and tailored to the unique requirements of our customers. As one of the first Customs - Authorised Economic Operators in Europe, our focus on service, compliance and supply chain security has been acknowledged as market-leading.