Vietnam rail transport connects to Europe for the first time

Vietnam's railway transport connects to Europe for the first time (Photo: Railfreight)

Due to overcrowding of ocean container shipping routes, there is growing demand in Southeast Asia for transport connectivity services to China's railway hubs via sea or land for transportation to Europe.

According to information from Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR), the freight container train consists of 23 40-foot containers transporting goods such as textiles, footwear, electronics. The cruise train departs from Yen Vien International Terminal, transports to Zhengzhou in China's Henan province, and then connects to the Asia-Europe train to reach the destination.

A representative of the Vietnam Railways Corporation said that, in the context of the global outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, international sea transport is facing difficult times, railway transport is the main transport partner reliable transfer to bring goods from Vietnam to Europe. The railway has the advantage of an efficient international rail connection system, trains arriving at the destination station on time, reasonable transport costs, and low impact on the environment.

Currently, the Vietnam Railways Corporation and its European partner are developing a plan to transport 8 trains/month departing from Vietnam. Total estimated transit time for the entire journey is 25-27 days.

Currently, Vietnam Railways Corporation is providing container transportation services by rail between Vietnam and China and transiting to Russia, Europe, ASEAN countries and Central Asian countries with full logistics services for customers.

It can be seen that the successful organization of the first container train from Vietnam to Belgium will continue to open up rail transport routes to Europe in addition to the routes operated to Germany, Poland...

However, according to Robert Foster, Development Manager of Norman Global Logistics, rail transport from Hanoi may not be a simple solution for products sourcing in the northern region of Vietnam.

He told The Loadstar: “Right now, ocean freight – if the vessel leaves on time – is around 30 to 35 days from Vietnam to Hamburg. And with all the current delays on rail from China to Europe, you are lucky if you get to Hamburg inside 30 days that way".

“So I’m not sure how competitive rail from Vietnam will be when you factor-in additional transit time.”

China-Europe rail freight has grown rapidly this year, surging 52% in volume in the first half of the year, to 707,000 teu, according to Chinese media. The number of train trips increased by 43%, to 7,377 over the same period.

But soaring demand and modal shifts are continuing to create congestion and delays on rail lines, Mr Foster said.

“There are delays due to the large amount of cargo being switched to rail from ocean. You may not get on to a vessel for two or three weeks, depending on the shipping line, as none of them are easy to deal with right now,” he explained.

“Additionally, there are floods in Zhengzhou, Germany and the Netherlands, and a lack of equipment and railcars for transport at the Brest-Mala border [between Poland and Belarus].”

Since 2017, when the China-Vietnam railway was opened, cross-border container transport has increased more and more, and customs clearance efficiency has been increasing rapidly. In the first 6 months of 2021, there were 145 rail container transport trains between China and Vietnam, an increase of 64.8% over the same period, creating an important basis for the deployment of container transport from Vietnam to Europe.

It is expected that this August, China will continue to cooperate with Vietnam to deploy two railway transport trips between Vietnam - China - Europe.

Source: Phaata.com (According to Chinhphu.vn, The Loadstar, The World & Vietnam Newspaper)

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