The new route will take trains between Yen Vien Railway Station in Hanoi and the Belgian city of Liege, where the containers would be unloaded and sent by trucks to the final destination, the Dutch city of Rotterdam, the Vietnam Railways said.

Each train with 23 forty-foot containers will arrive at the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, and be connected to the Asia-Europe train bound for Belgium through Russia and Central Asian countries. A trip will take 25-27 days.

The Transportation & Trade Joint Stock Company (Ratraco) has tied up with forwarders in various countries to provide logistics services to customers using the new train to transport goods.

Ratraco and its European partners plan to run eight trains a month.

Cargo transport by train has grown considerably in recent times even as passenger transport has declined due to Covid-19, Vietnam Railways said.