The North-South high-speed railway, which is designed to connect the capital city of Hanoi and the southern metropolis HCMC, will travel at a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour and take some five hours to cover the entire route.

The North-South railway is now outdated and its speed is quite slow, so the construction of the cross-country express railway is of great importance

The Railway Project Management Unit under the Ministry of Transport submitted its pre-feasibility study for the big-ticket project to the ministry for consideration.

According to the study, the North-South express track, which is to be built under the format of public-private partnership, will cost an estimated US$58.7 billion.

Of this figure, some US$2.2 billion will be allocated for demolition and site clearance costs, US$43.3 billion for construction and equipment costs, and US$4.3 billion for management and consultancy costs, among others.

The route is divided into two stages for separate investment and construction.

The first phase includes a 282-kilometer section between Hanoi and Vinh City of northern Nghe An Province, and a 362-kilometer section from the south-central beach city of Nha Trang to HCMC. They are due to be finished by 2030.

In the second phase, work on the remaining Vinh-Nha Trang section, which is 901 kilometers long, will start later, so that the entire expressway can be put into service by 2045.

The study said capital from the State is expected to make up some 80% of funding, while the remainder is to be sourced from the private sector. The State’s investment capital will account for 7-10% of the country's capital for infrastructure in the 2020-2030 period, and some 7-7.6% for the 2030-2040 period, according to the consulting firm.

The total investment for the project accounts for about 0.4 -0.55% of GDP for the first period, and some 0.35-0.4% in the second period.

Given the growth rate of the Vietnamese economy, according to the consulting firm, it is possible to mobilize investment funds for the project without there being significant impacts on the allocation of basic infrastructure investments, total development investments, and public debts.

The cross-country rail route is to be 1,559 kilometers long and runs through 20 cities and provinces, from Hanoi Station to Thu Thiem Station in HCMC’s District 2.

Some 60% of the tracks will lie across viaducts, 10% underground, and 30% on land. The route will have double standard-gauge tracks of 1,435 mm, 24 stations, three more planned stations, five depots and 42 infrastructure maintenance facilities.

The consulting unit estimated that if the train runs at a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour, and stops two minutes at each station, the travel time for the entire route will range from five hours and 17 minutes for trips with fewer stops, to six hours and 50 minutes for those with many stops.

The study was conducted by Transport Engineering Design Inc. (TEDI), TEDI South and Transport Investment and Construction Consultant JSC – along with a research group from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

SGT