Bai Gio tunnel repaired, North railway route opened

Vietnam Railway Corporation said that at around 6:15 p.m. this afternoon (April 21), the repair of the landslide at Bai Gio tunnel was completed and the technical tunnel was opened.

Freight train HH84, pulling 18 freight cars (847 tons) passed through the tunnel safely, reaching the destination one day ahead of schedule. Before that, at around 5:30 p.m., the railway ran a construction train through the tunnel to check technical factors before allowing the freight train to pass.

Freight train HH84 passed through Bai Gio tunnel safely.

Thus, with the efforts of hundreds of railway workers and construction units, after 10 days of the North-South railway being interrupted due to the landslide incident at Bai Gio railway tunnel through Deo Ca (Dai Lanh commune, Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province), from 6:00 p.m. this afternoon, all trains can pass through the tunnel at a speed of 5km/h.

Bai Gio Tunnel (tunnel No. 23) route Km 1230+991 - Km 1231+385 of Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City railway line has a length of 393.72m, built by the French in 1935. After nearly 100 years of exploitation and use, the tunnel has been severely degraded and is currently being repaired and reinforced under package No. 11A, Project "Reinforcing weak tunnels combined with opening new stations and renovating the upper-floor architecture of Vinh - Nha Trang section" invested by Project Management Board 85.

Construction train passes through Bai Gio tunnel for technical inspection, before allowing cargo train to pass.

At 12:45 on April 12, 2024, a serious landslide occurred in the Bai Gio tunnel area, blocking the main North-South railway line through the area for nearly 10 days.

Immediately after the incident, the railway mobilized hundreds of workers, vehicles, and machinery to work with construction units day and night to urgently fix the problem. However, due to complex geological conditions, continuous landslides, and limited construction space, the work to fix the problem encountered many difficulties. The incident caused severe damage to railway infrastructure and traffic as thousands of passengers had to return their tickets and hundreds of freight trains had to be canceled.

Specifically, trains from both directions cannot pass through the area due to the blockade of the section between Hao Son Station (Hoa Xuan Nam Commune, Dong Hoa Town, Phu Yen Province) and Dai Lanh Station (Dai Lanh Commune, Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa Province). To maintain transportation operations, minimize damage and impact on passengers, in nearly 10 days (from April 12 to 5:00 p.m. on April 21), the railway industry safely transported nearly 30,000 passengers on 110 passenger trains. While waiting for the transfer, passengers were served free meals and drinks.

Regarding freight transport, hundreds of freight trains had to stop along the way or wait for plans at departure stations. Railways had to transfer some freight trains by road to ensure progress.

Engineers, railway workers, and construction units urgently repaired the railway in Bai Gio tunnel to allow the test train to pass safely.

"The railway industry has regularly announced and updated the incident handling work to passengers and cargo owners. The thoughtful organization of passenger services on the train and at the station has received great sympathy and sharing from passengers and cargo owners. However, due to concerns that the incident would affect the schedule, thousands of passengers have returned tickets purchased from April 12-21. Many cargo owners transporting frozen goods, food, consumer goods, etc. have canceled their transportation orders," Vietnam Railways Corporation informed.

Also according to Vietnam Railways Corporation, train SE8 is expected to be the first passenger train to pass through the tunnel at 6:35 p.m. tonight with about 300 passengers.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/khac-phuc-xong-ham-bai-gio-thong-tuyen-duong-sat-bac-nam-tu-chieu-toi-nay-21-4-192240421185320318.htm