“Instead of converting the current rail to an express line, which is considered not only infeasible but also costly, the project will upgrade the existing railway and simultaneously build high-speed rail in connection with the current one”. This is the information given in the workshop “Joint meeting among stakeholders of north-south express railway technical assistance project, organized in Ho Chi Minh City by Vietnam Railway Corporation in cooperation with Research Team under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
At the workshop, Mr Iwata Shizuo, the research team leader, stated that Vietnam’s north-south railway system is severely degraded, the route and direction are not suitable. Longer travel time has led to the contraction of the railway’s market share compared to that of airway which is now much more convenient and cheaper. Facing this situation, JICA has embarked on a research project to develop a north-south express railway. The goal of the project is to analyse the development scenario then propose the optimal plan, work out project implementation plans for a number of selected routes and promote better understanding of the north-south express railways project among the parties concerned.
JICA representative also provided summary results of the previous workshops of stakeholders held in the localities and feedback of the research team to the localities’ opinions. At the same time, the representative presented the results of in-depth study on some issues including selection of an optimal plan, selection method of route direction and station location in the south.
Accordingly, JICA put forward three options to develop the north-south express railway, in which option 1 has been selected by the functional agency under Ministry of Transport and the provincial agencies in the project localities. Under this option, the high-speed railway has a total length of 1,570 km (the current one is 1,700 km long). The railway is designed to be straighter to enable it to reach maximum speeds of 350km/hour. Travel time between Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City is shortened to 5 hours 40 minutes (in the case the train stops at only 6 priority stations). The high-speed railway project is designed with 26 stations across 20 provinces and cities nationwide. Priority stations will be located near the developed urban centres and connected to other important transportation hubs; thereby shortening the travel distance and facilitating people’s travel. It is planned that express railway project will commence in 2020 and formally be put into operation in 2030. This will meet the travel needs of passengers with much shorter time and cheaper cost of only half of air fare.
Upon analysis, scientists attending the workshop conclude that the current railway plays a very important role in transporting freight and passenger across the country. Therefore, instead of converting the existing rail into express line, which is considered not only infeasible but also costly, the project will upgrade the existing railway and simultaneously build a high-speed rail in connection with the current one.
As the cost of project implementation is quite large and Vietnam’s economy still faces many difficulties, JICA proposes building sub-express railways project for each project section in which the first 2 priority ones are Hanoi-Vinh (approximately 300km) and Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang (about 370km) with speed of 300km/hour. These two railways are in a state of overload and the capacity has already been exploited in full.
Based on the result of fact-finding missions and surveys on natural environment, social environment as well as the living environment in the localities where the railway crosses, JICA Study Team propose building Ho Chi Minh City- Nha Trang express railway in the southern region with six stations in Nha Trang, Thap Cham, Tuy Phong, Phan Thiet, Long Thanh Market and Ho Chi Minh City (district 2) first. Hanoi – Vinh railway construction will be conducted later, followed by Vinh - Nha Trang. Total cost of building South-North express railway is estimated at US$21.4 billion. JICA representative said the organization would provide support in working out plans and training human resources for the south-north express railways project.
Mr Tran Quoc Dong, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Railways Corporation, said: "The north-south express railway project is expected to open up existing potential, underpinning Vietnam's economic development to the regional and global level. In that sense, when the works are under construction, it is essential to pay due attention to the environmental impact, planning, capital mobilization, management and exploitation issues. The project will create golden opportunities for all economic sectors with the investment purpose, especially private enterprises which are looking for investment opportunities."
Gia Hoa
Vietnamese
