Vietnamese firm launches container railway route to Kazakhstan

Railway Transport and Trade JSC (Ratraco), an affiliate of state-run Vietnam Railways, has launched a container railway route connecting Vietnam with Kazakhstan, halving the travel time versus the maritime route, the firm announced Friday.

Previously, a majority of Vietnam’s electronic products were exported to central Asia via a 50-day maritime route, a Ratraco representative said.

The route starts in Ho Chi Minh City, passes Hanoi, continues to Xi’an city of China, and then to Kazakhstan’s biggest city of Almaty, carrying electronic products. Last month, the firm carried 70 containers on the route.

The reps added that inter-continental railway routes going to Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia via China take place regularly, while the Yen Vien (Vietnam)-Liege (Belgium) route via Russia was suspended in March 2022 due to concerns related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Besides, China’s reopening earlier this month will further facilitate transportation of goods from Asean nations to China and beyond via Vietnam, the reps noted.

Vietnam's railway system transported 5.7 million tons of cargo in 2022, up 0.8% year-on-year, according to Vietnam Railways. Besides, the system tripled passenger transport to 4.52 million last year.