The Red Sea crisis has heightened the demand for rail transport between China and Europe, a trend that is also engaging Italian operators. On January 11, 2024, DB Group announced that bookings are now open for the block train departing on February 3, 2024, from Chengdu, China, bound for Melzo (Milan) and Padua. The containers will be tracked via GPS, and customers can monitor their location throughout the journey through 37 checkpoints that read RFID tags. Additionally, on January 9, DB Group announced another block train service between Xi’an and Bologna-Melzo, although the departure date for this service has not yet been specified.
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