First container block train from Finland to India

The first container block train from Finland to India is on its way carrying 32 containers loaded with paper-based products of a Swedish company. It is the first such service linking Europe and India using the western wing of a new transport corridor that seeks to cut transit time and cost of transportation.
The train will pass through the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The estimated travel time by rail from Vuosaari to Astara station in Azerbaijan is eight days. From Astara, the containers will be transported by road to the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran and then hauled by a ship to Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the state-owned container gateway near Mumbai.

The transit time from Vuosaari to Jawaharlal Nehru Port is around 25 days, about half that it takes to go via the Suez Canal, said a spokesperson for Nurminen Logistics Services Oy.