Illustrative. (Photo: tapchigiaothong.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The freight train from Vietnam to Europe is operating very well after puttinginto operation for more than four months, according to Tran The Hung, General Director of Rail Transport and Trade Joint Stock Company(Ratraco).
The train runs between Yen VienRailway Station in Hanoi and the Belgian city of Liege, where the goods are unloaded and sent by trucks to the final destination, the Dutch cityof Rotterdam. A trip takes about 30-35 days.
The railway industry hasso far operated 28 trains with more than 640 forty-foot containers.
Currently, the companyruns three trips per week on average and plans to increase to 4-5 trips nextyear. The trains carry such goods as machinery, office equipment, electronics,furniture and textiles.
Hung said that thecost of shipping containers by sea has increased remarkably, creating anopportunity for the railway industry to increase its market share. However, due tolimited infrastructure and transportation capacity, it takes time for the industryto make necessary preparation.
In addition to running a directtransport route to Europe, the Vietnam Railways Corporation also operates freighttrains with only some carriages running directly to Europe, wherebythe train departs from Yen Vien station to China and then the carriages are connected to otherfreight trains bound to other destinations in China and Europe.
The freight train service is opening up a new transport axis for theVietnamese railway industry, offering chances to transport manyVietnamese goods to Europe at a low cost and reasonable time, according to transport experts.
A difficulty of the railway industry in intermodal transport that needs tobe solved soon is the lack of infrastructure systems such as warehouses, yards,means of transport, and containers. Therefore, it is necessary to consider investmentin upgrading some of stations and cargo yards on the route./.
