The North-South high-speed railway project should prioritise the construction of sections which have high demand first, according to vice chairman of the Vietnam Bridge and Road Association, Tong Tran Tung.

The North-South high-speed railway project would be 1,560 kilometre long

According to Tung, the two sections of Hanoi-Vinh and HCM City-Nha Trang needed to be built first, using diesel trains which can travel at 150 metres per hour for both passenger and cargo transportation.  

After that, construction of the Vinh-Nha Trang section along with the replacement of diesel with electric engines should be considered.

The Ministry of Transport has submitted a pre-feasibility study report for a North-South high-speed railway project to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for consideration.

The rail line would be about 1,560 km, running along the North-South corridor, connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The line would share 14-kilometres of Hanoi Metro Line 1 (from Hanoi station to Ngoc Hoi station), with the remainder connecting Ngoc Hoi station to Thu Thiem station, with 27 stations, five depots, and 42 infrastructure maintenance facilities.

It is designed to allow maximum speeds of 350km/hour.

The whole project is scheduled to be completed in 2050.

The report proposed state investment to cover 80% of the total, while the remaining 20% would be sourced from the private sector.

The project would be carried out in the two phases. The first would last from 2020 to 2032 with an investment of USD24.7 billion, while the second would be in the 2032-2050 period with USD34 billion.

Dtinews/VietNamNet