CONGESTION is building at key crossings on the Russia-Chinese border because of increasing China-Europe railfreight volumes, reports London's Loadstar.

January-to-September volumes were up 47 per cent year on year to 568,700 TEU, more than whole-year volumes in 2020, according to Russian Railways (RR),

Trains from China to Europe carried 379,600 TEU, up 40 per cent, but the rate of growth from Europe to China was faster, with volumes up 70 per cent to 189,100 TEU for the nine-month period.

The railway operator said the bulk of the volumes were industrial goods, chemicals, vehicles, components, machine tools and engines.

The increase in traffic was facilitated by the "establishment of competitive pricing conditions," said RR adding that the development of transport and logistics infrastructure and the diversification of transit routes throughout the country also contributed to growth.

Indeed, the Russian Silk Road route has gained multiple new and upgraded services over the past 12 months, as shippers look to avoid the capacity crunch in air and ocean freight, RR said.

For example, in April, Maersk upgraded its AE19 Asia-Europe service along the trans-Siberian to four times a week, while 2M member MSC launched a similar sea-rail operation via the ports of Vladivostok and Vostochny.

Maersk has previously claimed the Russian rail route was more reliable than the alternatives through central Asia, given the fewer border crossings and it avoids the regular congestion on the China-Kazakhstan border.

Also, Rhenus Logistics of Holzwickede, 80 kilometres east of Duisberg, Germany, recently launched an Asia-Europe multimodal service from South Korea, via Russia.

Said Rhenus managing director Patrick Dargeld: "The Asia-Pacific market for railfreight transport is expected to gain momentum as intermodal solutions continue to grow in popularity amid the evolving supply chain challenges worldwide."

But Russia's booming rail volumes are putting a strain on infrastructure and staffing levels and creating a shortage of rolling stock, leading to bottlenecks and delays, said the report.

New Silk Road Intermodal CEO Jacky Yan told London's Loadstar congestion was increasing at Manzhouli and Erenhote.

"The rail volumes are surging in Russia because of its peak season for winter clothes and boots and the Christmas peak. Rail is the primary option for Russia, especially the Far East regions," he said.

Meanwhile, in a bid to alleviate the railfreight congestion in Europe, a new 450,000 TEU capacity terminal has opened in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic.

Rail volumes via Kaliningrad have seen rapid growth, having increased from three per cent of total China-Europe throughput in 2019, to eight per cent last year. Cargo is either shipped from the Russian hub to other European sea ports, or enters Poland via rail on an alternative line to Malaszewicze, a major congestion hotspot.