Cargo Transportation
by Rail

Railway transport: containers and freight trains

According to ISO regulations, the industry standards are 20 feet and 40 feet container types. To increase the rail transport capacity, sometimes double stack containers are used, this implements carrying two layers of intermodal containers, and is mainly used in the USA.
There are also Piggyback trains, which are referred to where a transportation unit can be carried on the back of something else. For instance, road vehicles such as semi-trailers or truck-trailer combinations can be loaded onto trains with the help of ramps or by crane.

LCL shipping by railway transportation

LCL (less than container load) or groupage shipments can be easily transported by railway. Agora Freight ensures seamless supply chains and offers consolidation service for LCL, which moves regularly to Europe and Russia from China. You can find out more about our consolidation and also warehousing services in China on the dedicated webpage.

When to choose rail transportation?

Railway transportation is a good choice when an accurate delivery time is required, it is a punctual means of transport, and weather conditions are unlikely to block the operation of rail freight shipping. It is estimated twice as quick as ocean freight and 8 times cheaper than air freight.

Railway freight transportation is cost-effective and can be more efficient than other modes of transportation. It has lower fuel costs compared to road transport, especially when shipping a high volume of freight, is suitable for various kinds of goods and is famous for its multimodal shipments. The containers and trailers used are compatible with both road and rail freight, often called multimodal transport, which means that there is no need to unload and reload at transit points; the whole container or trailer is simply lifted and attached from the train to the truck or vice versa.

As for its environmental benefits, using railway transportation helps to reduce exhaust emissions as trains burn less fuel than trucks. A high level of security is another benefit, such as GPS tracking, which is widely used in trains that guarantees the safety of cargo during rail freight trasportation.

Problems you might face

The drawback of railway transportation is the lack of flexibility. Sometimes the place of destination is out of reach of the railway station. In this case, the cargo will arrive at the nearest station and then be moved via road to the destination.

Approximate range of rates, what they depend on

When choosing rail transportation, be aware that there are the following costs:

• station prices
• operating prices
• service prices and additional railway equipment prices.

To get the rate for the rail services immediately, please visit Agora Freight Calculator. All you need is to choose the station of departure and destination, fill in the basic parameters of your cargo and click on Search. Agora Freight’s clever algorithms and simply designed interface are able to give you real-time prices in seconds.

Agora Freight provides rail freight transport for both FCL (Full-Container Loads) or LCL (Less-than-a-Container Loads or groupage cargo) shipments. The routes covered may be from China to European countries including Russia and Belarus, Central Asia and vice versa, as well as within the Russian Federation. This is especially used to or from the Russian ports where the distances are prohibitive for overland trucking.

In the field of domestic and international cargo transport by rail, we offer:

• optimal routes for cargo delivery by rail
• multimodal container transportation, including door-to-door delivery
• liaison with the shipper to collect and prepare the shipment details before railway transportation, namely: cargo readiness and container stuffing dates, options for placing and securing cargo, documentation preparation, delivery of loaded containers to the departure railway station, customs clearance, etc.
• shipments from port of discharge terminals on block container trains
• coordination of rail transport (rail waybills) and other documents
• 24/7 cargo tracking and notifications

We can offer either cargo transportation by rail, for example, from China to the Russian Federation, but also a comprehensive logistics service, including:

• railway transport services
• organization of customs clearance in China, Russia and EU countries
• cargo insurance covering all risks
• survey and other services