Deutsche Bahn, the German state rail operator, said Wednesday it planned to expand rail freight transport between Europe and China via Russia in the coming years. It signed a letter of intent with its counterparts in China and Russia, the Chinese rail ministry and the Russian operator RZD, earlier this week.
Deutsche Bahn will also take an eight-percent stake in a consortium that would develop combined rail and road freight transport in China, it said in statement.
A total 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) would be invested over the next five years in the construction of 18 combined rail and road transport terminals.
Alongside Deutsche Bahn and Chinese partners in the consortium were French companies CMA/CGM with eight percent and ZIM of Israel also with eight percent, the German company said.
"In a few years, we'll see trains running directly between Peking and Berlin," said Deutsche Bahn chief Hartmut Mehdorn.
With the rail journey lasting 12 days, "railways are much faster than ships," Mehdorn said. "We must now come up with marketable services."
Source: Agence France-Presse
