North-South high-speed railway tickets are expected to be 75% of the average airfare, with the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route ranging from 1.7 to 6.9 million VND.
According to the draft report on the pre-feasibility study of the North-South high-speed railway project, ticket prices are divided into three levels to suit people's ability to pay, needs and different levels of recommendations.
The North-South high-speed railway ticket price is expected to be 75% of the average price of low-cost and economy air tickets. This level is based on the reference price of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet - the two airlines with the largest market share in the country. In particular, each kilometer of first class ticket is expected to be 0.18 USD (VIP cabin), 0.074 USD for second class and 0.044 USD for third class.
Thus, on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, first class tickets are about 6.9 million; second class is 2.9 million and third class is 1.7 million VND.
"The proposed ticket price is not much different from other countries with similar conditions to Vietnam," the draft proposal stated, comparing it with the Beijing-Shanghai (China), Jakarta-Bandung (Indonesia) and Tohoku (Japan) high-speed railway lines.
Also according to the draft proposal, the total investment for this project is about 1.7 million billion VND, mainly construction and equipment costs (more than 974,000 billion VND).
The North-South high-speed railway has a structure of 60% bridge, 10% tunnel and 30% ground. The investment cost is about 43.7 million USD per km. "This is the average level compared to some high-speed railways in the world with the same operating speed range when converted to 2024," the draft said.
Based on the investment resource mobilization options, the project can be invested in the entire route at once. This option creates pressure on capital and implementation, but the advantage is to promote efficiency and attract all passengers traveling on all sections as soon as it is put into operation.
To shorten the time, this project is divided into 4 component projects and implemented simultaneously, including the section from Ngoc Hoi (Hanoi) to Vinh (Nghe An); Vinh - Da Nang; Da Nang - Dien Khanh (Khanh Hoa) and the remaining section to Thu Thiem station (HCMC).
According to the Ministry of Finance's calculations, when investing in the high-speed railway, Vietnam's public debt, government debt and foreign debt indicators by 2030 will still be 5-16% lower than the allowable level. Accordingly, the highest public debt is 44% (the National Assembly's ceiling allows 60%); government debt and foreign debt are 43% and 45%, respectively (allowable level 50%). After 2030, public debt indicators will still be within the allowable threshold. Deficit and direct debt repayment obligations will increase, but not much compared to the scenario of no project investment.
The North-South high-speed railway project is expected to help the country's average GDP increase by about 0.97% per year, compared to the scenario of not investing in this project. The commercial revenue of the project is about 22 billion USD, not including the investment costs for vehicles and equipment, which will be paid by the Vietnam Railway Corporation. These factors will contribute to improving all macro-financial indicators.
Previously, the 10th Central Conference of the 13th tenure agreed on the investment policy for the entire high-speed railway project (350 km/h) on the North-South axis and assigned the Government Party Committee and the National Assembly Party Delegation to direct agencies to urgently complete the documents to be submitted to the 8th session opening in October.
The high-speed railway is expected to start at Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi) and end at Thu Thiem station (HCMC). The project will pass through 20 provinces and cities including Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, and HCMC.
At the meeting on September 25, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested that the 350 km/h high-speed railway passing through 20 provinces and cities from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City needs to be as straight as possible, meaning crossing mountains and building bridges over rivers.
To optimize costs, the railway line will have a gauge of 1,435 m, electrification, a design speed of 350 km/h, a load capacity of 22.5 tons/axle; a length of 1,541 km with 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations. This route will mainly transport passengers, meet dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary. The existing North-South railway will transport goods and short-distance tourism.
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