North-South High-Speed ​​Railway: Investing for the Future

The high-speed train has a design speed of up to 350km/h. The starting point is at Ngoc Hoi station, Hanoi, the ending point is at Thu Thiem station, Ho Chi Minh City. Construction is expected to start in 2027.

In 2024, it can be said that we have witnessed many milestones in the development of transport infrastructure, especially key national projects.

Last year, when talking about the milestones of key transportation projects, we cannot fail to mention North-South high-speed railway project. An unprecedented mega-project, with a total investment of 67 billion USD, equivalent to about 1.7 million billion VND at the current exchange rate, has been approved by the National Assembly in principle for investment, after nearly 18 years of research and planning.

With the current scale of Vietnam's economy, it is assessed that it has sufficient conditions for implementation. According to the capital arrangement plan, the project will need about 5.6 billion USD each year, equivalent to about 16% of the annual medium-term public investment capital for the period 2026-2030. It is expected to start construction in 2027 and be basically completed in 2035.

"That is the wish of many people, not only mine but also my children's and grandchildren's generations," said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, Thanh Hoa province.

"Your Vietnam is a long country running from North to South, so taking a high-speed train will bring wonderful experiences," said Matthias Baunach, a German tourist.

The high-speed train has a design speed of up to 350km/h. Starting at Ngoc Hoi station, Hanoi, passing through 20 provinces and cities and ending at Thu Thiem station, Ho Chi Minh City, promises to create a strong boost for national transportation and tourism.

With a total investment of 67 billion USD, the North-South high-speed railway project promises to create a breakthrough for Vietnam's railway transport.

"We imagined being in Hanoi in the morning having breakfast and drinking coffee, but at noon we were in Da Nang eating seafood, and in the afternoon we were immersing ourselves in My Khe beach," said Mr. Nguyen Canh Tien - Deputy Director of Violette Trains Vietnam Travel Company.

Preliminary calculations show that the cost of vehicles and equipment for high-speed railways alone is up to 34.1 billion USD. A potential and huge market for Vietnam's railway industry.

Mr. Dang Sy Manh - Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Railway Corporation said: "We also have to gradually research, gradually transfer, and gradually take over technology. The most important thing is that we will have to proactively propose preferential policies so that we can form and develop an industrial mechanical industry, an industrial mechanical industry of railways".

"With good training and good policies, Vietnam's railways will master the technology," said Mr. Ngo Cao Van - Nguyen, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Railways Corporation.

Investing in the North-South high-speed railway, the railway industry is like wearing a new coat suitable for its growth after more than 100 years. The project will help increase our country's average GDP by nearly 1 percentage point per year compared to not investing in the project. Investing in the high-speed railway is investing in the future.

Urban railway draw green public transport picture

Urban railways are gradually drawing the picture of public transport in big cities.

People in the two largest cities in the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are excited to experience the first urban railway lines after many years of delays. Metro Line 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien and the elevated section Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station.

Urban railways are gradually drawing a picture of public transport in large cities, being the priority choice of people, because of their speed, convenience, civilization, reasonable cost and especially environmental friendliness.

After only 10 days of operation, Ho Chi Minh City metro line No. 1 has welcomed more than 530,000 passengers, exceeding the plan by nearly 240%.

"It is very special to feel the transformation of the new development, the transformation of the transportation system as well as the lives of the city's people", Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City shared.

"Now that it's completed, I'm very happy for the whole country and people, everyone can travel conveniently," Ms. Tran Thanh Hoa - Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City shared.

The Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station urban railway has officially been carrying passengers on the elevated section for more than 4 months. In the last months of the year, 2 robots were also used to drill the underground section, and have now reached more than 40% of the progress.

Urban railways are opening up new development space. Especially the TOD model, which is urban areas along public transport routes as a world trend. Bringing opportunities to generate revenue from auctioning land use rights around metro lines, to return to continue investing in new routes.

North-South Expressway race to the finish line

It is expected that by April 30, the North-South expressway project will be completed to Quang Tri province.

In addition to high-speed railways and urban railways, last year, international railway is also a frequently mentioned phrase. These will be railway lines that will be responsible for transporting goods across continents. We have started researching 3 new routes including: Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong, Ha Long - Mong Cai (Quang Ninh) and Hanoi - Dong Dang (Lang Son). According to calculations, if invested, these new railway lines can transport 10 to 15 times more import and export goods than at present.

With the North-South Expressway, we have witnessed many determinations and efforts to promptly remove obstacles and difficulties in site clearance, construction material sources, especially in the southern region. Up to now, the progress of most component projects has been ensured, it is expected that some sections will be completed 3 to 6 months ahead of schedule.

Taking advantage of sunny days, mobilizing human resources and vehicles for many construction projects is an atmosphere seen in most North-South expressway component projects in the last months of 2024.

Mr. Tran Dinh Ngan - Commander of Construction Corporation 319, Ministry of National Defense said: "We still maintain 100% of our troops. On days with favorable weather, we simultaneously construct all items, flexibly organize construction for the remaining small items, inter-route works, service roads, and cross-roads".

The three component projects Bai Vot - Ham Nghi, Ham Nghi - Vung Ang and Vung Ang - Bung are located in Ha Tinh province. The total length is over 102km and is expected to be completed 6 months ahead of schedule.

Mr. Hoang Chien Thang - Director of the Bai Vot - Ham Nghi Component Project Management Board, Thang Long Project Management Board said: "We took advantage of the morning work from 4:30 a.m. to start construction and finished at 9:00 p.m. With the weather like this and the current progress, we will basically meet the completion schedule in 2025."

In the southern provinces, the important solution to ensure the progress of the North-South Expressway is to share the source of sand for filling. Vinh Long, Dong Thap, and Tien Giang provinces have completed the approval of reserves and exploited more sand mines to serve the project.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Vice Chairman of Hau Giang Provincial People's Committee said: "For projects that have been handed over clean land, we will work with the construction unit to speed up the implementation progress. Secondly, for projects that still have land issues, we will focus on resolving them completely."

It is expected that by April 30, the North-South Expressway project will be completed to Quang Tri province. The remaining sections extending to Ca Mau will be completed by the end of this year at the latest.

If we look further, not only railways and roads, but also the aviation sector in 2024 will have many large projects such as Long Thanh airport, Tan Son Nhat T3 terminal, all of which are being urgently constructed to ensure progress. Or the seaport infrastructure system and waterway projects across the country have also helped Vietnam welcome the largest ships in the world to dock, setting many records for our country's goods exports in 2024.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/duong-sat-toc-do-cao-bac-nam-dau-tu-cho-tuong-lai-3337799.html