First Russian freight train arrives in Vietnam

The train carrying cosmetic products departed from Version station on the outskirts of Moscow, passing through Zabailkalsk-Manzhouli checkpoint on the Russia-China border, and Pingxiang-Dong Dang checkpoint on the China-Vietnam border.

Travel time was 23 days, including the time for customs processing at border checkpoints. The time is only half that of sea routes, while the cost is much cheaper than by air.

Viacheslav Kharinov, Chief Representative of the Russian Trade Office in Vietnam, said this is an important milestone in the two countries' trade activities as container transport services by rail will help to facilitate the travel of goods, thus contributing to an increase in import-export turnover.

The train route is part of an agreement between Russian Railways (represented by RZD Logistics) and Vietnam Railways (represented by Rail Transport and Trading Company- RATRACO).The two sides are working to cut the travel time to 18 days.

Recently, Vietnam Railways launched several container train services connecting Hanoi and China's Nanchang, Nanning, and Guangzhou.

RATRACO said that it will open new routes linking Vietnam and China's Qingdao, Shenglong, and Wuhan, and test the operation of several container trains to Chengdu to facilitate the export of Vietnamese goods to Europe.

(Source: NDO)