The freight train left Yen Vien station in Hanoi for the Belgian city of Liège on July 20, 2021. Photo by VnExpress / Anh Duy.
A freight train left Hanoi for Belgium for the first time on Tuesday, carrying containers of clothing, textiles and leather shoes.
The new route will take trains between Yen Vien station in Hanoi and the Belgian city of Liege, where containers would be unloaded and sent by trucks to the final destination, the Dutch city of Rotterdam, Vietnamese Railways said.
Each train of 23 40-foot containers will arrive in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou and will be connected to the Asia-Europe train to Belgium via Russia and the countries of Central Asia. A trip will take 25-27 days.
The transport and trade joint-stock company (Ratraco) has partnered with freight forwarders in various countries to provide logistics services to customers using the new train to transport goods.
Ratraco and its European partners plan to run eight trains per month.
Freight transport by train has increased significantly in recent times, although passenger transport has declined due to Covid-19, Vietnam Railways said.