The first rail freight service from the UK to China departed from London Gateway yesterday, commencing a 17-day, 7,500-mile journey to Eastern China.

30 containers left the Essex terminal with British produce, including whiskey, soft drinks, vitamins and pharmaceuticals. After transiting the Channel Tunnel the train will pass through France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, before arriving Yiwu on 27 April.

The service is expected to help bridge the gap between the longer transit times of ocean freight and the more expensive option of airfreight.

Uniserve recently reported on the first inbound train from China, which arrived at Barking in January, so yesterday’s departure is another boost to our port centric operations centre.

Located by the Port of Tilbury and the new London Distribution Park, our high bay multi-storey Super DC is ideally positioned.  Being within 10 miles of the rail services and London Gateway Port, we are perfectly placed to provide outstanding supply chain solutions.

If you would like to enquire about the port centric services we offer, or to find out more about the new rail service, then please contact us by email info@ugroup.co.uk or call 01708 259400.