SHANGHAI: November 27, 2018. A truck operated by Ceva Logistics Greater China has completed the first TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) transit from Khorgos, China via Kazakhstan to Europe.

The joint initiative between Ceva, the IRU (International Road Transportation Union), Alblas International Logistics and Jet-rail International, left Khorgos on November 13 and arrived in Poland 11 days later without incident or delay. The new door-to-door road option is estimated to be 50 percent cheaper than air and 30-50 percent faster than rail.

Customs sealed in Khorgos, the truck travelled 7,000 kms. via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus to Poland. “This is a day to remember. Together with our partners, we have trialed TIR all the way to Europe today [for] the very first time,” commented Kelvin Tang, Ceva Logistics Greater China director Road & Rail.

After China joined the TIR system in May this year, Ceva began investigating the feasibility of using road transport to Europe as an alternative to airfreight, according to Torben Bengtsson, EVP Ceva Logistics Greater China.

“The trial proves that the TIR carnet issued in China is accepted in the transit countries en-route to Europe. The government, IRU, RIOH [China’s Research Institute of Highway] and many other parties worked together to remove barriers and uncertainties.

“We have a lot of customers waiting for the start of a regular service. During the coming weeks we will work on some small details of the service and then prepare to start regular operations as early as possible in 2019,” added Bengtsson.