Opening the railway transport corridor between Russia and Vietnam
For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, goods from Russia were transported to Vietnam by rail through the territories of Mongolia and China.
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| Container transportation on the Vorsino-Chengdu-Vorsino import-export route Photo: "RZD Logistics" |
This is the first step in the cooperation plan between the enterprises "Russian Railways" and "Vietnam Railways", implemented by the subsidiaries "RZD Logistics" and "Ratraco".
Ceremony to welcome the container train on the Moscow-Hanoi route
"RZD Logistics" was founded in 2010 and is the largest logistics provider in Russia and the CIS countries. In addition to Russia and the CIS countries, the company operates in 13 countries, including China, Mongolia, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, transporting more than 30 million tons of cargo. For example, recently "RZD Logistics" transferred from Kazakhstan to Russia 100-meter-long railway tracks. Or from China to Germany - sculptures for contemporary art exhibitions.
The company has established a number of international transport corridors. Between Russia and China, export container ships run weekly, as well as between Germany and China, and between Northern Europe and India, which are running trial voyages.
Now it's the turn of the test trip to Vietnam. It's a 40'' container of cosmetics from Krasnaya Liniya company, just in time for the company to open a store in Hanoi.
"This container is the first swallow of rail transport between Russia and Vietnam," - said Mr. Andrei Tonkikh, Deputy General Director of "Russian Railways" in an interview with Sputnik. - "So far, in Russia and also in Vietnam, very few people know about the possibility of transporting most goods between countries by rail. The transportation time is twice as short as by sea. The price is a little higher, but the transportation will not depend on weather conditions. We carry out "door-to-door" delivery and ensure exact compliance with the conditions."
The container carrying Krasnaya Liniya cosmetics to Hanoi will return to Russia as soon as it is loaded with export goods from Vietnamese manufacturers. Vyacheslav Harinov, head of the Russian trade representative office in Vietnam, is confident that the wait will not be long. In an interview with Sputnik, he said:"The transportation of goods between our two countries, which is agreed upon by the Free Trade Agreement, is currently carried out by sea and air. But sea transport takes a long time, while air transport is expensive. Therefore, goods of average price level, especially goods requiring urgent delivery, can be easily transported by rail. The first experience shows very positive advantages. I think that it will be of primary interest to Vietnamese fruit and vegetable suppliers, the demand for these products in Russia is very high. I am sure that in Russia many exporters will consider rail as an economically feasible method of transport to Vietnam."
As Mr. Tonkikh told us, "RZD Logistics" has dozens of container terminals across Russia. Therefore, the Russia-Vietnam-Russia railway corridor can significantly contribute to the development of interregional partnership between the two countries.
