HCMC – The Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR) will suspend all regular passenger train services on the North-South route from August 25 and maintain only freight trains.
The SE8 train which was scheduled to depart from the Saigon Station on August 23 and the SE7 train from the Hanoi Station on August 25 have been cancelled. These are the last trains kept operational during the pandemic.
Despite suspending passenger trains, VNR will still operate passenger trains based on the demand from localities with permission from the competent agencies.
According to VNR, in the first half of the year, the corporation operated more than 18,600 trains, transporting nearly 2.9 million tons of cargo, earning a revenue of VND835.6 billion.
The number of freight trains surged 111.2% over the year-ago period and 107.9% against the same period in 2019.
In mid-July, VNR ran its first container train from Hanoi to Belgium. The train with 23 40-feet containers transported goods such as garments, footwear and electronic products.
It departed from Yen Vien station and arrived in the Belgian city of Liege.
As the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge in the maritime transport costs, railway transport services have been preferred by many enterprises.
By Le Anh
