(Yicai) Sept. 23 -- More than 130 trains on key freight routes connecting China and Europe are stuck in Belarus after Poland closed the border with its neighbor earlier this month amid military tensions, forcing major freight operators to roll out alternative plans while they wait for the backlog to be cleared.

The trains are mainly stranded in Brest, a city in southwestern Belarus close to the border with Poland, according to a report released yesterday by New Silk Road Intermodal Sichuan, a logistics provider that mainly operates trains along the China-Europe Railway Express.

Most trains using the China-Europe Railway Express -- an important plank in global trade -- reach their European destinations after transiting through the Polish freight hub of Malaszewicze, so the decision by Poland’s government to close the border with Belarus has choked the corridor, disrupting the network’s normal trade flow.

Even if the border crossings reopen quickly, it is expected to take about one week to clear the backlog piled up at the border and those already en route, the report said.

“All of our peers operating along the China-Europe Railway Express have some freight trains that departed after Sept. 12,” Tang Tingting, assistant general manager at New Silk Road Intermodal, told Yicai. “Some have already arrived in Brest and are waiting for customs clearance, while others are still on the way.”

Companies running trains along the China-Europe Railway Express are taking steps to clear this hurdle, the report said. These include temporarily halting some trains, launching alternative rail-sea transport solutions through Saint Petersburg in western Russia, and increasing the frequency of trains on the southern route of the China-Europe Railway Express.

“Everyone believes that the border will not remain closed for a long time,” Tang said. “Moreover, as the China-Europe Railway Express service platform has introduced some alternative solutions, clients are still placing orders.”

The southern route of the China-Europe Railway Express passes through Kazakhstan and crosses the Caspian Sea to Baku, in Azerbaijan. The cargo then moves via Georgia and reaches inland Europe through the Black Sea or Türkiye.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione