Faster than ocean. Lower cost than air.

Rail earns its place on two kinds of movement. The first is the Eurasian land bridge between China and Europe, where a container can cross the continent in roughly half the time of an ocean sailing at a fraction of an air rate. The second is North American intermodal, where long domestic hauls move on 53-foot containers at lower cost and lower emissions per tonne-kilometre than over-the-road trucking.

On short hauls, drayage at both ends dominates the cost, and lanes with irregular service can leave cargo waiting for a train to fill. We tell you clearly which of your lanes rail suits.

European standard gauge is 1,435 mm. The former Soviet network runs on 1,520 mm. Containers moving between them have to be transhipped at a break-of-gauge point. Malaszewicze on the Polish–Belarusian border is the best known, with alternative crossings through the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor.

Transhipment is routine and is also where congestion builds. Every Eurasian rail quote states which crossing the routing uses, because the crossing, more than the distance, usually decides whether the container arrives on the estimate.

A block train runs as a complete unit from origin terminal to destination terminal without being broken up and re-marshalled en route. It is faster and more predictable, and it suits shippers with enough volume to fill it or to take a committed share of one.

Single-container bookings ride on scheduled services alongside other shippers' boxes. They cost less to enter and suit irregular volume, running to the operator's schedule. The right choice depends on how much of your volume is predictable.