The Ministry of Transport has just issued Document No. 2793/BGTVT-KHDT to the National Assembly delegation of Khanh Hoa province in response to the voters’ suggestions after the 6th session of the 15th National Assembly.
Accordingly, on February 2, 2024, the Ministry of Transport received a suggestion from the voters in Khanh Hoa province, which was forwarded by the Government Office according to Official Letter No. 840/VPCP-QHĐP, the content of which is as follows: “Requesting the Government to direct the relevant Ministries and sectors to spend more time studying and learning from other countries to invest effectively in the North-South high-speed railway system“.
In response to this matter, the Ministry of Transport stated that on February 28, 2023, the Politburo issued Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW, which has guided “Thoroughly, meticulously, comprehensively, and in combination with international experience, study, analyze, and evaluate investment options, technologies, technicalities, capital, etc. to build a modern, comprehensive, feasible, efficient, and strategically long-term high-speed railway line that fully harnesses the potential advantages of the country and is compatible with the world’s development trends”.
The Prime Minister has established a Steering Committee for the construction and implementation of the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis and other important national railway projects, with members including representatives of relevant ministries and sectors. The Government has issued an Action Program to implement Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW of the Politburo, directing the relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to study and propose effective investment in the North-South high-speed railway system in coordination with the Ministry of Transport and other ministries, agencies, and localities to study the experiences of some countries in the world in developing high-speed railways.
During this time, the Ministry of Transport has conducted thorough, comprehensive, and comprehensive research, evaluation, and summary of experience in the development of high-speed railways around the world; organized interdepartmental survey teams to directly survey in 5 countries with developed high-speed railway systems in the world to complete the project’s preliminary study and feasibility report.
Currently, the Government is continuing to direct the relevant ministries, sectors, and agencies to study and learn from international experience in institutional policies, human resource development, technology transfer, industrial development, resource mobilization, land exploitation around stations, etc. to implement the North-South high-speed railway investment project specifically and the railway system in general to ensure feasibility and efficiency.
1,545 km long, 350km/h speed?
According to the National General Plan for the period of 2021-2030, vision to 2050, and the Railway Network Plan for the period of 2021-2030, vision to 2050, the high-speed railway (HSR) on the North-South axis has a double-track scale, gauge of 1,435mm, with a length of about 1,545km, and initial investment plan before 2030.
On February 19, 2024, the Government Office announced the conclusions of the Standing Government’s meeting on the investment proposal for the North-South high-speed railway. The Government Office requested the Ministry of Transport to closely follow the Resolutions of the Party Central Committee, the Conclusion of the Politburo, the Resolution of the National Assembly, and gather opinions from the ministries and agencies before quickly completing the proposal.
At the end of 2023, the Ministry of Transport submitted to the Government Office a proposed investment plan for the North-South HSR which is currently being reviewed for comments before being submitted to the Politburo and the National Assembly. The Ministry of Transport has proposed multiple scenarios.
Scenario 1: Constructing a new North-South double-track railway with a gauge of 1,435mm, a length of 1,545km, a design speed of 350km/h, a load of 17 tons / axle, and separate operation of passenger trains; upgrading and renovating the existing North-South rail line for the transportation of goods, tourism, and short trips. The estimated total investment for this scenario is about 67.32 billion USD.
Scenario 2: Constructing a new North-South double-track railway with a gauge of 1,435mm, a load of 22.5 tons / axle, dual-purpose operation of passenger and freight trains; a design speed of about 200-250km/h, with a maximum freight train speed of 120km/h; modernizing the existing North-South railway line for the transportation of goods, tourism, and short trips. The estimated total investment for this scenario is about 72.02 billion USD.
Scenario 3: Constructing a new North-South double-track railway with a gauge of 1,435mm, a load of 22.5 tons / axle, dual operation of passenger and backup trains for freight transportation when needed; a design speed of 350km/h. The estimated total investment for this scenario is about 68.98 billion USD. In case of investing immediately in infrastructure, equipment, and vehicles to serve continuous freight train operation from the North to the South, the investment cost is about 71.69 billion USD.
Based on the analysis, the Ministry of Transport proposes to choose Scenario 3 along with some specific mechanisms and policies to shorten the schedule, mobilize investment capital, and train human resources.
