Two new urban railway lines to be put into operation in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha this morning chaired the second meeting of the Working Group assisting the Steering Committee to direct the progress of urban railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

2 projects to develop urban railway network in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that so far, Hanoi has developed a plan to complete the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station railway line; test run the elevated section; complete fire prevention and fighting appraisal and personnel training.

The Ministries of Transport, Construction and Finance have directed the implementation of system safety assessment and certification; organized site inspections, reviewed acceptance conditions; completed procedures and signed loan allocation agreements for underground sections; and established an environmental licensing appraisal council.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired the meeting. Photo: VGP

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Duong Duc Tuan said that it is expected that by the end of July, the elevated section of the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station railway line will be completed and put into use.

Meanwhile, the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien railway project (HCMC) has completed procedures to adjust the implementation time, reported to competent authorities for consideration and arrangement of investment capital.

Ho Chi Minh City is speeding up the completion of the remaining items; conducting test runs, operating the system, reporting on system safety, accepting fire prevention and fighting, environmental approval... to put the system into use in December.

At the meeting, the Working Group listened to reports and comments on the content of two projects to develop the urban railway network of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City by 2035, including specific mechanisms, policies, and resource mobilization plans suitable to the socio-economic development situation of each city and the whole country.

These are large, complex projects involving many fields, in conditions where the law is still entangled. Therefore, it is necessary to research, analyze, and evaluate carefully, combining international experience and actual investment implementation in the past to propose goals and solutions for building a modern, synchronous urban railway.

Urban railway network planning with a hundred-year vision

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha noted that after the first meeting, the members of the Working Group had completed 9/16 assigned tasks, and continued to implement the remaining 7 tasks according to plan, with a scientific, specific, practical, effective and responsible approach.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to strive to put into operation the elevated section of the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station and the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien railway line ahead of schedule.

Regarding the two projects to develop urban railway networks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Deputy Prime Minister requested consensus on viewpoints, goals, tasks, solutions, and common policies and mechanisms, while taking into account local characteristics. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for synthesizing and submitting to competent authorities in accordance with regulations.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the urban railway network of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City must be synchronously connected with the North-South high-speed railway, including: stations, technical design standards for rail tracks, locomotives, carriages, operating systems, etc.

In addition, the two cities need to select leading design consultants to complete and evaluate the urban railway network planning with a 100-year vision.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested to refer to the experiences of some countries with developed and modern metro networks. This is the basis for the two projects to propose a comprehensive and feasible plan for receiving and transferring technology for underground construction, locomotives, carriages, management, operation, human resource training, etc. to build a synchronous and modern railway industry.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to assess the overall impact on the economy of urban railway development projects in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the North-South high-speed railway, and the ability to balance public investment capital.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City need to continue to closely coordinate with ministries and branches to develop policy packages and plans to mobilize social resources at the highest level through TOD (urban development, trade, services along traffic routes), PPP (public-private partnership), BOT (build - operate - transfer)...

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the mechanisms and policies for developing urban railway networks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City must be synchronous, feasible, specific, clearly indicating how to do it, who will do it, where the problems are, and proposing solutions to competent authorities.

Without focusing on building subways for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the country cannot go far.

A country that cannot build subways for its major cities cannot go far.

Research on building subway in Hai Phong

The Prime Minister suggested that Hai Phong study the construction of a subway system, striving to have a high level of development among the leading cities in Asia by 2045.