Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR) has an ambitious plan to build the first-ever 880km express railway within a five year period beginning 2010.

General director of the corporation Nguyen Huu Bang said the 880km express railway would be divided into four routes: Hanoi-Vinh city, 280km; HCM City-Nha Trang, 400km; HCM City-Vung Tau City, 100km; and Hanoi-Hai Phong port City, 100km.

The construction of the parallel railway will cost an estimated US$30bil.

The general director said the construction planned between 2010-15 was aimed to meet the pressing demand of increasing passenger and cargo transport between big cities including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh, Nha Trang and Vung Tau where the economy is developing quickly and where there is a high population density - more than 90mil people.

This railway will be especially important when the Trans-Asia railway connects with the Vietnamese railway network in the next few years, further increasing the volume of passenger and cargo transport.

Bang said the railway will be 1.435m wide, built with concrete ties that will allow trains to travel at an average speed of 160 to 300km per hour.

He added that VNR will build 780km of completely new tracks on three of the four routes: Hanoi-Vinh City, 280km; HCM City-Nha Trang, 400km; and 100km HCM City-Vung Tau City.

The remaining route from Hanoi to Hai Phong will be upgraded and built new in some sections in order to minimise costs.

In the near future, a new 1.435m railway will be developed parallel to the existing 1m wide Trans-Nation railway.

The existing railway will run along residential areas and complex terrain like slopes and high passes that will make it quite difficult to upgrade; it will also link up with the Trans-Asia railway, which is of a similar size.

It is estimated that each 1km stretch of the new railway will cost about $37mil to build, including the construction costs and purchase of new carriages.

VNR stands to recover the investment capital after 10 years due to its high revenues, and competitiveness, said Bang.

(Source: Viet Nam News)