East Europe border town strains under Silk Road train boom

The growth of Asia-Europe container rail services has been one of the great transport success stories of the past five years. However, a Reuters visit to the Polish town of Malaszewicze, close to the Belorussian border, shows the downside of this growth: local authorities simply weren’t prepared for the number of trains logistics firms and Chinese rail companies have wanted to push through, even if many services remain heavily subsidised. Congestion is mounting – at one point late last year there was said to be a queue of 100 trains waiting to cross the border and enter the Malaszewicze terminal. “A surge in the number of trains over the past year, fuelled by Beijing’s plans to grow trade along ancient Silk Road routes to Europe, has left authorities scrambling to meet demand that has ballooned to as many as 200 locomotives a month.”