HIGHLIGHTS
- It is expected that this year, revenue from freight transport will increase 27% compared to last year.
- If warehouse infrastructure is not improved soon, the railway industry will easily lose its competitive advantage when many businesses no longer choose this method to transport goods.
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Railway transport grew strongly
According to the Vietnam Railways Corporation, it is expected that this year, revenue from freight transport will increase 27% compared to last year. The railway industry’s strategy in 2019 was to gradually increase freight transport, but in 2021 – 2025, it has switched to taking freight transport as the mainstream. This is one of the factors that makes this business segment gradually promote its advantages.
Container cargo through Yen Vien, Hanoi station has increased by 180% compared to last year. Each train carries from 20 to 25 containers, making rail transport more flexible than sea freight because it does not have to wait for large quantities of goods to be gathered.
Currently, the frequency of freight trains to Europe is 2-3 trips/week and is expected to increase to daily running soon.
“In the coming time, the demand for rail transport to China and third countries will still increase. I plan to run the train every day” said Mr. Mai Hoang Long, Deputy General Director of the Railway Transport Company.
“Cargo transport will continue to increase, in which we focus on specialized trains, container transport and intermodal transport. This is the policy on choosing goods segments and routes as well as focusing on taking goods as the main driver to gradually replace passenger transport” said Mr. Vu Anh Minh, Chairman of the Members’ Council of Vietnam Railways.
Weaknesses need to be overcome to further develop railway transport
Despite such great potential, with more than 100 cargo stations across the country, only Yen Vien stations can meet the requirements of international container handling.
Infrastructure bottlenecks are restraining the resilience of freight transport by rail. For example, at Giap Bat station, Hanoi, one of the largest freight stations on the whole line, has faced the state of infrastructure collapse for decades, even the train carriage has had to be turned into a warehouse.
Besides, another weakness of rail transport that cannot yet be overcome is the scope of freight transport. Although it is easy to transport goods from North to South, only big cities with railway systems can use this service.
According to experts, if warehouse infrastructure is not improved soon, the railway industry will easily lose its competitive advantage when many businesses no longer choose this method to transport goods.
Manh Nguyen
Rail freight transport also needs “green channel”
