Many people believe that investing in a railway connecting Long Thanh airport will be costly and need to be carefully considered. Giao thong newspaper discussed with Mr. Le Van Dat, Deputy Director of the Institute of Transport Strategy and Development, to clarify this issue.
Part 1: Preventing the risk of lack of connectivity when exploiting Long Thanh airport
Part 2: Preventing the risk of traffic shortage connecting Long Thanh airport: Speeding up planning implementation
Clearly define direct and indirect connection routes
Could you tell us how the railway network connecting to Long Thanh International Airport has been planned ?
Recognizing the important role of Long Thanh International Airport, the Ministry of Transport has promptly researched and planned railway routes to diversify connection types, meeting transportation needs in each period.
Mr. Le Van Dat, Deputy Director of the Institute of Transport Strategy and Development.
The plan clearly identifies the main direct connecting railway lines including: the North-South high-speed railway line (Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang section) with a length of 370 km, the station at Long Thanh Airport, with the function of connecting inter-regional passengers, especially the Northern and South Central regions with the airport.
The Thu Thiem - Long Thanh light rail line has a total length of 38 km. Starting from Thu Thiem (HCMC) and ending at Long Thanh Airport, it serves as a passenger transit point between HCMC and Long Thanh Airport.
Why not use railway investment capital to focus on roads?
According to Deputy Director Le Van Dat, many people are now asking: Instead of investing expensively in railways, can competent authorities prioritize capital to expand roads?
There are two main reasons:
Firstly, railways are capable of transporting a large number of passengers at high speed and with stable travel time, especially during rush hour; Reducing pressure on expressways, national highways, and local roads connecting to the airport. In particular, at Long Thanh International Airport, expressways such as Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay or Ring Road 3 may be overloaded after 2030 if there is no supplementary method.
Expanding roads and increasing traffic volume also increases the risk of traffic safety and traffic congestion.
Second, railways are a low-emission mode of transport, contributing to reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the strategy of developing green and sustainable transport.
A well-connected airport by rail will create a competitive advantage over other international airports in the region, enhance the passenger experience and attract more airlines.
Not only does it play a role in quickly and effectively connecting Ho Chi Minh City (Thu Thiem area) and Long Thanh International Airport, reducing travel time and traffic pressure on roads such as the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway also plays the role of a "backbone" traffic route for urbanization and economic development in surrounding areas.
The Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway has a total length of 84 km, connecting the Southeast regions, especially industrial parks in Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, with Long Thanh Airport.
In addition, the indirect connection is the urban railway system of Ho Chi Minh City with Long Thanh Airport, there is also Metro Line No. 6 of Ho Chi Minh City, connecting directly from Ho Chi Minh City to Tan Son Nhat Station (T1,2,3) to the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh light rail line, connecting to Long Thanh Airport, playing an important role in transferring passengers between the two airports.
Metro Line 2 of Ho Chi Minh City (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) connects from the center of Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh Airport through transfer stations in Thu Thiem.
I also know that Ba Ria - Vung Tau will also have a railway connecting to Long Thanh Airport.
How is the implementation schedule of the above projects planned, especially the railway routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Long Thanh International Airport, sir?
According to plan, Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 2 is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2030.
The two North-South high-speed railway lines and the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh light railway will be invested in and are expected to be completed and put into operation in 2035.
Metro Line 6 is expected to be operational in 2035.
According to the assessment, by 2035 at the latest, Long Thanh International Airport needs a railway connection to increase efficiency in handling large passenger volumes (Photo: ChatGPT).
Need 2 to 3 connecting railway lines
According to you, with the operating capacity of Long Thanh International Airport, when is the latest time to have a connecting railway line to support other modes of transport?
The necessary time to deploy the railway line connecting to Long Thanh International Airport needs to be determined based on the demand for passenger and cargo transportation and the ability of other modes of transportation, which can be divided into 3 phases.
Phase 1 (2025), Long Thanh Airport's capacity is expected to be 25 million passengers/year and 1.2 million tons of cargo/year. During this phase, roads such as Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, Ring Road 3, and bus routes can meet immediate needs.
Phase 2 (2030), capacity increases to 50 million passengers/year and 1.5 million tons of cargo/year. This is the time when the risk of overloading on roads begins to appear, requiring more modern modes of transport such as the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh light rail.
Phase 3 (2040 - 2050): Capacity reaches 100 million passengers/year and 5 million tons of cargo/year. Without a supporting railway line, the connecting traffic system will fall into a state of serious congestion, reducing the efficiency of airport exploitation.
According to the above analysis, by 2035 at the latest, the connecting railway line needs to be completed and put into operation to ensure demand.
Experience shows that an airport of the scale of Long Thanh Airport needs to develop how many railway lines?
International experience shows that a large-scale international airport like Long Thanh Airport with a designed capacity of up to 100 million passengers/year in phase 3 (2040 - 2050) needs to develop 2 - 3 connecting railway lines to meet the needs of passenger and cargo transportation.
For Long Thanh Airport, if mobilization is favorable, in phase 1 (2025 - capacity of 25 million passengers/year), it is possible to invest in a light rail line: Connecting Thu Thiem - Long Thanh to serve basic travel needs from Ho Chi Minh City.
Road routes (Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway, DT.25C) play a supporting role in connection.
Phase 2 (2030 - capacity of 50 million passengers/year) needs to add inter-regional routes: Bien Hoa - Long Thanh - Vung Tau Railway to connect key economic provinces; Continue to deploy urban metro routes such as Metro Line No. 6 (HCMC).
Phase 3 (2040 - 2050 - capacity 100 million passengers/year), put into operation the North - South high-speed railway line, ensuring the ability to transport inter-regional passengers, especially from the Central and Northern regions.
If this is done, when operating at maximum capacity, Long Thanh super airport will have a total of 3 railway lines (urban, inter-regional, high-speed).
The railway system plays an important role in sharing traffic pressure with the roads connecting Long Thanh airport (Illustration: ChatGPT).
Mobilizing diverse sources of capital
Preliminary calculations, how much capital will be needed to develop the railway connecting Long Thanh International Airport? Where will this resource be mobilized from , sir ?
Up to now, the capital for investment in the railway connecting Long Thanh airport has not yet had an exact figure. However, it can be affirmed that the resources to be mobilized are very large, requiring a synchronous strategy between the state budget, socialization, and international cooperation.
In particular, the state budget can participate in 30% - 40% of the initial investment in essential items such as: site clearance, basic infrastructure and part of the construction cost. Priority is given to the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh light rail line and the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau line, projects that are difficult to recover capital.
Socialized capital can mobilize 60% - 70% from large domestic and international enterprises, according to the PPP method, BOT type. This option is suitable for routes that can recover capital through train tickets.
ODA (Official Development Assistance) capital mobilized from international organizations such as ADB, WB, JICA, or climate funds, especially for environmentally friendly projects.
Priority is given to projects requiring high technology or sustainability (light rail or high speed).
In addition, the investment in the airport railway connection project can consider using preferential loans from development banks to reduce borrowing costs or issue bonds to raise capital from individual and institutional investors.
Lessons from major airports
What is the world's experience in developing railways connecting airports, sir?
Developed countries have successfully deployed airport rail systems to optimize passenger transport efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and develop regional economies.
A typical example is Japan - one of the countries with the most comprehensive railway system.
At Narita Airport (Tokyo), the Narita Express (N'EX) connects the airport to central Tokyo, combined with the Shinkansen bullet train system, for fast travel time (about 60 minutes from Tokyo). Train schedules are synchronized with flight take-off/landing times.
In Germany, Frankfurt Airport is connected to major cities such as Cologne, Munich, and Berlin by the ICE high-speed rail line. For the convenience of passengers, the railway station is located right on the airport premises, combining inter-regional and urban rail.
In Singapore, the airport connection is a very efficient metro system. Changi Airport is connected to the city center via the modern East West Line, running at high frequency (3-5 minutes/trip), connecting directly to other main MRT lines in the city. The advantage of this line is that the ticket price is cheap, suitable for many classes of passengers.
Or in the UK, people have developed specialized railways connecting airports. Heathrow Airport (London) is a typical example. It is connected to Paddington Central Station in London via the Heathrow Express high-speed train with a short travel time (about 15 minutes). The train cars are designed to be comfortable, have large space for luggage and are conveniently connected to the underground and intercity trains.
The closest to Vietnam is China, high-speed train is one of the types that create the attraction and efficiency of large airports.
At Beijing Capital Airport, connections to neighboring cities are provided by a combination of subway and high-speed trains (300-350 km/h for high-speed trains). The railway station is integrated within the airport premises. Train routes run in sync with take-off and landing times, minimizing waiting times.
From lessons learned from around the world, Long Thanh Airport can develop multimodal connections, combining high-speed rail, light rail and metro to serve diverse passenger needs. Design the railway station in sync with the airport terminal to reduce transfer time.
Thank you!
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/ngan-nguy-co-thieu-giao-thong-ket-noi-san-bay-long-thanh-nen-dau-tu-he-thong-duong-sat-192241230014413856.htm
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