The China-Europe Railway Express, or China Railway Express (CRE), is key logistical cog in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. It provides an alternative to container shipping for transporting Chinese manufactured goods to Europe via Russia.

Transit transportation of containers via the Russian Railways network will grow to 4 million TEU in 2027. That’s almost four times what it was in 2021, and some experts consider such a plan «virtually unrealizable.»