Container train to Europe departs from Đồng Đăng station to Chinese railways. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Railways of Transport and Trade Joint Stock Company (Ratraco) has announced that a new freight link between the central city of Đà Nẵng and Europe is to be launched early this month.

The train will carry 23 containers of furniture from the well-known Swedish brand IKEA.

The train will stop at Đồng Đăng International Railway Station of the northern border province of Lạng Sơnto get customs clearance so it can move to Zhengzhou Railway Station in China before connecting to the Asia-Europe train to reach its destination.

The IKEA products will be delivered to several cities, including Liege of Belgium, Hamburg of Germany, and Melzo of Italy.

This comes after a freight train left Hà Nội for Belgium for the first time in July last year carrying containers of garments, textiles, and leather shoes.

The route goes between Yên Viên Railway Station in Hà Nội and the Belgian city of Liege, where the containers are then unloaded before being sent by truck to their final destination, the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

According to the Việt Nam Railway Corporation, international railway freight transport service posted positive growth last year and in January.

Despite the pandemic, nearly 1.16 million tonnes of goods were transported by trains in 2021, surging 34 per cent compared to last year.

Of note, the Đồng Đăng International Railway Station witnessed surges of 82 per cent in the volume of goods and 117 per cent in carriage frequency in the fourth quarter of last year.

The exports were primarily ore, sulphur, chemicals, electronics, as well as garments and textiles. — VNS