A technical train started a test run at reduced speed of between 5 to 15 km/h at 17:15 on April 21 before a 20-car long, 850-tonne freight train ran through the tunnel to continue technical inspection.

At around 19:00, a 20-car North-South train carrying more than 300 passengers passed through the tunnel without any incident.

Hundreds of tonnes of rocks and soils as a consequence of subsequent landslides fell down onto the track inside Bai Gio tunnel in Khanh Hoa province on April 12-13, disrupting the North-South rail service through the tunnel.  

The incident forced the suspension of the North-South railway line, with trains traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi halting at Gia station in Khanh Hoa province and trains departing from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City stopping at Tuy Hoa station in Phu Yen province.

The railway sector deployed vehicles to transport passengers between the two stations as a means of continuing with their itinerary.

More than 200 workers, along with various vehicles, devices, and other specialised means, were dispatched to the site in order to deal with the incident.

After eight days, they managed to clear rocks and soils and reinforce the tunnel, enabling passenger and freight trains to pass through the tunnel.

A section of Highway 1 above the tunnel is expected to reopen to traffic on April 22.

VOV