Vietnam Railways launches freight train service to Belgium

Vietnam Railways (VNR) on July 20 added a new rail freight link from Vietnam to Belgium, with the first train departing from Yen Vien station, Hanoi, and expected to arrive at Liege City in Belgium.
Vietnam Railways launches freight train service to Belgium ảnh 1

Vietnam Railways launches the first freight train service from Vietnam to Belgium. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  (VNA) – Vietnam Railways (VNR) on July 20 added a new rail freight link from Vietnam to Belgium, with the first train departing from Yen Vien station, Hanoi, and expected to arrive at Liege City in Belgium.

Then, containers will be delivered to Rotterdam city (Netherlands) by lorries.

VNR said the train carried 23 containers with such goods as textile, leather and footwear.  During its journey, the train will stop at Zhenzhou city of China’s Henan province and connect to the Asia-Europe train to reach its destination.

According to the corporation, this is the first container freight train operated by Rail Transport and Trade Joint Stock Company (Ratraco) in conjunction with transport firms from other countries providing logistics services to customers from Vietnam to the target destination.

Currently, VNR is providing freight train services between Vietnam and China and transiting to Russia, Europe, ASEAN and Central Asian countries. The firm provides full logistics services to customers.

Nguyen Hoang Thanh, deputy director-general of Ratraco, said that the successful organisation of the train from Vietnam to Belgium will open up rail transport routes going deeper into Europe, in addition to the existing ones to Germany and Poland. 

“Currently, Ratraco and its European partner plan to organise eight trips per month departing from Vietnam,” Thanh said, adding that the total estimated time for the entire journey is 25 to 27 days.

It is expected that the second train will depart from Yen Vien station on July 27 carrying electronic products and the third one on August 3, he said. 

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, international maritime transport is facing difficulties, rail service is being sought by many customers to transport goods from Vietnam to China and from there on to Europe. 

With the advantage of an efficient international rail connection system and trains arriving at destination stations on time with reasonable costs, intermodal rail transport is thriving./.

VNA

See more

Representatives from industry associations share insights on Vietnam’s market trends. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Thailand boost industrial trade exchange

Trade between Vietnam and Thailand reached 20.18 billion USD in 2024, up 6.4% year-on-year. Thailand remained Vietnam’s top ASEAN trade partner, accounting for 24% of its total trade with the bloc.

Representatives from Lao and Vietnamese agencies at the signing ceremony. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Laos strengthen energy cooperation

A 1,200 MW wind power plant in Nong district, Laos’ Savannakhet province is expected to export 1,526 kWh to Vietnam annually once its first phase completes by the end of 2027, and additionally 1,112 million kWh per year after its second phase becomes operational in 2030./

A view of the Hanoi skyline. While rental properties continue to be in demand, there has also been a notable rise in the number of foreigners looking to buy houses. (Photo: VNA)

Housing demand from foreigners in Hanoi rises

Over several years, Hanoi has increasingly become an attractive destination for foreign workers, with approximately 10,000 new foreign workers are granted licences to work in the city each year.

A high-tech corn, sorghum and grass farm in Nghe An province (Photo: VNA)

Realising circular economy to achieve sustainable development goals

Developing a circular economy has been recognised as one of the priority directions to achieve overarching goals such as waste management, efficient resources utilisation, environmental protection, disaster prevention, and climate change adaptation in the country's next development phase.