Rail freight between Asia and Europe will be one of the central topics at the 2024 European Silk Road Summit, which will be held in Vienna on November 27-28. The largest event in Europe dedicated to the New Silk Road, annually brings together leading experts in rail freight, and this year’s 8th summit will focus on the resurgent market and expanding transport network that links China with Europe.

While the traditional route remains operational, recent years have demonstrated the importance of alternative routes, bypasses and a new approach to cooperation between countries. Central Europe, including Vienna, is playing an increasingly important role on the New Silk Road, providing an efficient and cost-effective alternative to existing logistics hubs such as German and Polish port points. Vienna, thanks to its strategic location and developed infrastructure, is becoming an important logistics platform for Eurasian cargo flows, which is especially relevant in light of the growing need for flexibility and reliability of transport chains.

The 2024 summit will discuss in detail both the main routes and new promising corridors, such as the Middle Corridor, and will also focus on Vienna as a potential key logistics hub for Asian and European partners. An important aspect will also be the assessment of current achievements and overcoming bottlenecks on the route from China to Europe via Central Asia.

The summit agenda will include topics such as the potential of the CIS-Europe transport corridors, the challenges and achievements of the main route and the Middle Corridor, the role of Vienna as a logistics hub and access point for Asian cargo flows, the development of European infrastructure and transport services of the Silk Road, geopolitics and interaction of the countries participating in the initiative.

The summit will bring together representatives of transport companies, logistics operators, manufacturers, shippers, supply chain managers, policymakers, as well as leading experts and consultants in the field of international transportation.

European interest in the New Silk Road is growing, and the 2024 summit will be an important step towards strengthening connections and improving logistics infrastructure on the continent, which in turn will contribute to accelerating economic development and strengthening international partnerships on the Eurasian continent.

ORIENT