Multi-modal Routing · Tier 2

Most SMEs default to sea or air. Rail is the third option nobody's pitching.

China-Europe Railway Express terminates at Małaszewicze on the Polish border. It's 10–15 days faster than sea and 70% cheaper than air for the 200kg–5t weight band. Most forwarders don't volunteer it because their margins on sea are higher and rail capacity is lumpier. We show you all four modes, side by side, with the math and the CO₂.

Compare modes Why rail matters

Why China-Europe rail matters

The middle mode most importers skip.

01

Sea takes 30–40 days door-to-door

Cheapest per kg above 5 tonnes. Slow. Schedule-volatile (port congestion, blank sailings, weather). Fine for non-time-sensitive bulk; painful for fast-moving consumer goods or seasonal product.

02

Air takes 4–9 days · costs 3–4× rail

Most expensive. Best for high-value-density (electronics, pharma) or genuinely urgent. Carbon-intensive: ~600g CO₂ per tonne-km vs ~30g for rail.

03

Rail takes 18–26 days · costs ~2× sea

The middle mode. China-Europe Railway Express via Khorgos / Brest / Małaszewicze. Mature corridor (running for 10+ years). Most viable for 200kg–5t shipments — too small for FCL, too pricey for air.

04

Małaszewicze is the gateway

Largest rail border-crossing point on the EU's eastern frontier. Trans-shipment from 1520mm (CIS gauge) to 1435mm (EU standard) happens here. From Małaszewicze, your goods are inland-EU within 24–72 hours.

When rail is the right call

200kg to 5,000kg China → EU. That's the sweet spot.

Rail wins

200kg to 5,000kg China → EU

Mid-volume shipments where sea LCL is slow and expensive on a per-kg basis, and air is overkill. Especially good for: e-commerce restock, mid-cycle inventory, B2B distribution that runs faster than 30-day sea cycles allow.

~30% faster than sea
~70% cheaper than air
~95% lower CO₂ than air
Predictable departure cadence (multiple weekly services)

Sea wins

5,000kg+ from any Asia origin

FCL economics dominate above 5 tonnes. Per-kg cost drops below €0.50; rail can't match. If transit time isn't the binding constraint, sea is hard to beat.

Air wins

Under 200kg, or under 14-day deadline

Sub-200kg shipments don't fit rail/sea consolidation economics well. Tight deadlines (product launch, replacement parts, perishables) force air regardless of cost.

CO₂ comparison

Air is 20× more carbon-intensive than rail per tonne-km.

For a typical 1-tonne CN-EU shipment, the difference between modes:

Sea

~195 kg CO₂e · 10g per tonne-km × ~19,500km

Rail

~345 kg CO₂e · 30g per tonne-km × ~11,500km · still 10× lower than air

Air

~5,280 kg CO₂e · 600g per tonne-km × ~8,800km · 27× rail and 27× sea

CBAM relevance

Embedded freight emissions don't fall under CBAM (which covers production emissions of Annex I goods). But CO₂ reporting under CSRD / Scope 3 reporting frameworks does include freight — many importers will need to declare per-shipment emissions starting 2026/27.

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