Vietnam accelerates national high-speed railway preparations

The Ministry of Transport is working on an investment policy for a North-South high-speed railway project which is set to be approved by 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on Monday approved plans for policies, solutions, and resources to develop the country’s railway network from 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, including the integral trans-Vietnam high-speed line.

Along with the North-South high-speed railway, the ministry is preparing to make investments in new routes, including Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho; Bien Hoa-Vung Tau; Cai Mep-Thi Vai; Thu Thiem-Long Thanh; Hanoi-Hai Phong connecting the Lach Huyen port in Hai Phong; a line connecting Vietnam’s Lao Cai province with China and other countries; and Yen Vien-Pha Lai-Ha Long-Cai Lan.

For 2021-2025, the government has set aside nearly VND16 trillion ($681 million) in public funding for railway development. Meanwhile, the 2026-2030 period will need about VND224 trillion ($9.53 billion) from the state budget and other sources.

A total of 25,800 hectares of land will be needed for Vietnam’s railway development until 2050.

In early March, the Politburo - the Party’s premier decision-making body - set a target of approving an investment policy for the North-South express railway by 2025, with construction to start before 2030.

The government will submit its investment policy to the National Assembly for approval in the legislative body’s 2021-2026 term. The transport ministry will make feasibility reports, approve the design, complete site clearance, then start a number of bidding packages for the first two sections between Hanoi-Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City-Nha Trang in this period.

A pre-feasibility study for the entire North-South high-speed railway system was submitted to the government in February 2019. Based on that, the government established a state council to make appraisals. As planned, the trans-Vietnam line will pass through 20 provinces, operating on double tracks with a 1.435 meters gauge instead of the single track used on the current aging system. The total length will be 1,545 kilometers, with a maximum operating speed of about 320 km per hour.

It is estimated that the project will cost about $58.71 billion, or about 14.4% of Vietnam's GDP in 2022 ($409 billion).