Vietnam's rail transport sees impressive growth

According to VNR, the company's total revenue in the first half of 2024 reached over $180 million, a 10.1 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Passenger transport volume grew by 20.6 per cent on-year. During the Lunar New Year period alone - from January to February, the railway sector sold over 650,000 tickets, generating revenue of $16.6 million, equivalent to 107.5 per cent of the previous year's figure.

In freight transport, the railway sector launched new freight routes, creating conditions to increase service value. There were also many measures to boost international intermodal rail freight volume.

Accordingly, the international intermodal operation at Cao Xa has been renovated, upgraded, and put into operation. Additional international intermodal transport products between Vietnam and China, as well as transit through China to third countries such as Russia, Europe, Mongolia, and Central Asian countries have been exploited.

VNR has launched specialised train pairs featuring regional cultural characteristics, such as the "Heritage Connection" train on the Hue - Danang route, the "Dalat Night Train Journey" tourist train, and charter trains with itineraries and services tailored to client requirements.

VNR stated that the impressive growth figures in the railway sector were due to peak transport periods during the Lunar New Year and the April 30–May 1 holiday, resulting in high passenger numbers.

Notably, to attract passengers during off-peak periods after holidays, the railway sector implemented ticket discount policies and promotions, such as "buy 3 tickets, get 1 free" for trains on the Hanoi-Vinh, Hanoi-Lao Cai, and Hanoi-Haiphong routes; discounts for tourist association groups; reduced fares for entire compartments or carriages; and a 20 per cent discount on designated seats on various train services.

Hoang Gia Khanh, general director of VNR said, "Along with business operations, the corporation has implemented restructuring of its apparatus. After restructuring, operations have become more efficient due to a streamlined organisation and reduced labour force."

The corporation has completed a plan to merge the two railway transport joint stock companies of Hanoi and Saigon into a single railway transport company. Shareholders' meetings of both companies have approved the merger. Currently, both companies are carrying out procedures to complete the merger.

"The merger of the two railway transport companies will help eliminate internal competition, reduce intermediate departments, and increase the efficiency of utilising existing vehicles and assets," Khanh said.

Regarding business production direction for the last six months of the year, VNR directed transport companies to focus on solutions to improve service quality, especially noting solutions to overcome limitations and issues reported by customers such as the cleanliness of carriages, and quality of carriage air conditioning.

It also called for developing solutions to entice tourists from localities to travel by train to tourist destinations. The corporation is also planning to build train running schedules, including its Lunar New Year 2025 train running plans.

To achieve the 2024 business production plan, VNR set the goal of completing key targets in the last six months of the year. The whole corporation combined aims to achieve revenue of $189.8 million, and profit of $2.14 million.

For the parent company (100 per cent state-owned single-member limited liability company), revenue was targeted to reach $117.8 million, with profit of $472,500.

For the transport sector, direct revenue from transport was projected at $81.6 million, equal to 108.6 per cent compared to the same period.

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