Vietnam to run more freight trains to China's Yunnan province

The Vietnam Railways Corporation said on Tuesday that it will increase the number of trains daily carrying cargoes between Vietnam's northern Hai Phong city and China's southwestern Yunnan province.

The number of daily freight trains will increase to three or four pairs (a pair includes one train running from Hai Phong to Yunnan, and the other running in the opposite direction) in the near future from the current two pairs.

It takes a train 29 hours, excluding time for customs procedures at border gates, to cover the Hai Phong-Yunnan rail line of 610 km.

At present, trains often carry zinc ores from Hai Phong to Yunnan, and fertilizers in the opposite direction, said the corporation.

In the first 11 months of this year, Vietnam's railway industry served 8.8 million passengers, down 3.7 percent on-year, and 5 million tons of cargoes, up 7.3 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office.