The train runs between Yen Vien Railway Station in Hanoi and the Belgian city of Liege, where the goods are unloaded and sent by trucks to the final destination, the Dutch city of Rotterdam. A trip takes about 30-35 days.
The railway industry has so far operated 28 trains with more than 640 forty-foot containers.
Currently, the company runs three trips per week on average and plans to increase to 4-5 trips next year. The trains carry such goods as machinery, office equipment, electronics, furniture and textiles.
Hung said that the cost of shipping containers by sea has increased remarkably, creating an opportunity for the railway industry to increase its market share. However, due to limited infrastructure and transportation capacity, it takes time for the industry to make necessary preparation.
In addition to running a direct transport route to Europe, the Vietnam Railways Corporation also operates freight trains with only some carriages running directly to Europe, whereby the train departs from Yen Vien station to China and then the carriages are connected to other freight trains bound to other destinations in China and Europe.
The freight train service is opening up a new transport axis for the Vietnamese railway industry, offering chances to transport many Vietnamese 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 to be solved soon is the lack of infrastructure systems such as warehouses, yards, means of transport, and containers. Therefore, it is necessary to consider investment in upgrading some of stations and cargo yards on the route.
