Vietnam-Europe freight train operating well: RATRACO

The goods are unloaded at Liege and sent by trucks to the final destination, the Dutch city of Rotterdam. A trip takes about 30-35 days.

Currently, the company runs three trips per week on an average and plans to increase to four to five trips next year. The trains carry machinery, office equipment, electronics, furniture and textiles, according to Vietnamese media reports.

The cost of shipping containers by sea has increased remarkably, creating an opportunity for the railways to raise its market share, Hung said. However, due to limited infrastructure and transportation capacity, it takes time for the industry to make necessary preparation.

In addition, the Vietnam Railways Corporation also operates freight trains with only some carriages running directly to Europe, whereby the train departs from Hanoi to China, and then the carriages are connected to other freight trains bound to destinations in China and Europe.

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, the reports said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)