Russian transport operator D-Trans, a member of ASMAP, the Russian Association of International Road Carriers, one of IRU members, has arrived in Turkey having completed a TIR transport from China using a new route through Russia.
The entire TIR transport from Shanghai, China, to Istanbul, Turkey, covered over 13,000 km, taking 19 days in total and encountering no issues crossing borders along the way. The single truck passed through Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria en route to its final destination.
Previous China-EU TIR journeys, the first of which was completed in November 2018, crossed the western Chinese border point at Khorgos into Kazakhstan before completing their onward journeys. D-Trans’ latest transport passed from China directly into Russia at Manzhouli in the north-east of the country, before travelling on to Europe.
Russian transport operators are now free to choose routes between China and Russia according to market needs, and can readily transport goods without transshipments at the China-Russia border, thereby increasing efficiency, saving costs, and reducing journey times.
The success of this latest route will further push the business case for TIR. According to one industry estimate, China-Europe road transport under TIR can be five to ten times cheaper than transport by air.
