Construction of two high-speed railway sections to begin by the end of 2027

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Construction of two high-speed railway sections to begin by the end of 2027

Project news

05/10/2024

The two high-speed railway sections Hanoi - Vinh and Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City will have land cleared, contractors selected, and construction started at the end of 2027, according to the Ministry of Transport.

On the morning of October 5, the Government Standing Committee met with ministries and branches to discuss and give opinions on the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway project and the implementation of railways connecting with China.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the units aim to submit to the National Assembly for approval the investment policy for the North-South high-speed railway at the October 2024 session. In the next two years, 2025-2026, the Ministry will organize bidding to select international consultants, survey, and prepare a pre-feasibility study report.

After starting construction on the two sections Hanoi - Vinh and Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City at the end of 2027, the remaining sections from Vinh to Nha Trang will start construction in 2028-2029. The entire North-South high-speed railway will be completed in 2035.

The Ministry of Transport has consulted models from 22 countries and learned from the experiences of 6 countries that have mastered high-speed railway technology. On that basis, the Ministry proposed a high-speed railway of 1,541 km in length, with a double track scale, 1,435 mm gauge, electrification, infrastructure designed for a speed of 350 km/h, 23 passenger stations with an average distance of 67 km, 5 freight stations. The route will start from Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), pass through 20 provinces and cities and end at Thu Thiem station (HCMC).

Through reviewing investment plans, technology, techniques, scale, referring to high-speed railway investment rates of other countries as well as consulting to prepare a pre-feasibility study report, the Ministry of Transport calculated the total preliminary investment of 67.34 billion USD.

Dự kiến hướng tuyến đường sắt tốc độ cao qua Hà Nội. Đồ họa: Đăng Hiếu

Planned route of high-speed railway through Hanoi. Graphics: Dang Hieu

Chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the North-South high-speed railway is of great significance to the country's development. The meeting aims to encourage units to prepare well for this project, to be highly determined, make great efforts, take drastic actions, complete each task, clearly assign people, responsibilities, implementation time, efficiency and products.

The Prime Minister requested ministries and branches to focus on researching and clarifying the mobilization of resources and other necessary conditions as well as the progress of project implementation.

In mid-September, 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 submit 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.

The North-South high-speed railway ticket price is expected to be divided into three levels to suit people's ability to pay, needs and different levels of comfort. Of which, each km of first class ticket is expected to cost 0.18 USD (VIP compartment), second class 0.074 USD and third class 0.044 USD. Thus, on the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route, first class ticket costs about 6.9 million VND; second class 2.9 million VND and third class 1.7 million VND.

On September 25, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested that, in addition to the investment scope from the starting point of the project in Hanoi to the end point in Ho Chi Minh City, agencies need to consider and study the plan to extend the high-speed railway line from Mong Cai (Quang Ninh) to Ca Mau Cape.

Dự kiến hướng tuyến đường sắt tốc độ cao qua TP HCM. Đồ họa: Đăng Hiếu