While most goods move today by air and water from Asia to Europe, the first shipment of Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) via rail marks what DB Schenker says will be regular service to begin after Chinese New Year in February 2009. Mazda is transporting vehicles from Japan to Russian by rail, as well.

While shipping by air is more expensive, it does take the least time. According to Fujitsu Siemens moving goods by ocean takes between 30 and 35 days. “Compared with airfreight, rail transport saves us roughly a quarter of the costs and also 95 % of CO2 emissions. Rail transport, therefore, is quite obviously the best choice from both the economic and the ecological point of view,” says FSC’s senior vice president supply operations, Heribert Göggerle.

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