Vietnam Railways accelerates digital transformation to increase appeal amid COVID-19

Vietnam’s railway industry is promoting digital transformation to improve its competitiveness

Hoang Mai Trang, living in Nam Tu Lien district, Hanoi said that she has sent 20kg of plum to a relative in Ho Chi Minh City by train via an online booking through the website harapost.vn.

“I found out about this online service through a friend. I find it cheaper and better than other services. It cost me only about VND150,000 ($6.52) while before I had to spend over VND600,000 ($26.08) to send things by air,” she said.

Trang and other people in Hanoi have been trying out the new service and are showing a strong preference for it now.

This is one of the technology solutions that the industry is applying to attract clients, reduce costs, and increase competitiveness.

Phung Thi Ly Ha, deputy general director of Hanoi Railway Transport JSC (HARACO), said that the company has been applying technology both in transportation and administration to create better services and experiences for customers, especially during the COVID-19 period.

Specifically, in passenger transportation, in addition to selling electronic tickets, the company is cooperating with partners like MoMo, VNPAY, Napas, Vimo, Viettel, and others to offer smart phone payments while connecting with e-commerce platforms like Sendo. In cargo transportation, IT applications are also deployed.

Thanks to the solutions, railway cargo transportation grew high. In the first half of 2021, HARACO’s cargo transport revenue reached VND501.6 billion ($21.8 million), up 14.6 per cent on-year.

Similarly, Railway Transport and Trade JSC (Ratraco) is also embedding IT solutions in its business activities. The company has already digitalised over 70 per cent of its processes, especially in cargo transportation.

“Digitalisation in administration and business improves the speed and efficiency of services and transactions while enabling the company’s leadership to make timely adjustments to business strategies,” said a Ratraco representative.

According to Nguyen Chinh Nam, director of the Planning and Business Department at state-owned railway giant Vietnam Railways (VNR), digital transformation and IT application are the cornerstones of the development and improving the competitiveness of the railway industry, especially during COVID-19.

In cargo and passenger transportation, and train operation, VNR applies an electronic ticket system, train operation software, as well as e-commerce and e-payment solutions, among others.

“We are working with powerful partners both at home and aboard to develop a digital ecosystem for e-ticket sales and e-payment for customers,” Nam noted.

However, he admitted that while VNR has been rolling out digital transformation at its businesses, it has yet to have a centralised database system and analysis software to support monitoring and timely decisions.

“We continue to work on plans to accelerate digital transformation, with more IT application in business activities,” he added. “The corporation will gradually transform the current business model into a digital economy model by strongly apply e-commerce, e-payment, e-invoice, e-contract, and e-transactions among others."

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