National Assembly delegation surveys the reality of the North-South high-speed railway project

Clarify implementation progress and ensure feasibility

On October 27, Mr. Vu Hong Thanh, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, led a working delegation to survey the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis through the provinces from Hanoi to Nam Dinh .

Previously, the National Assembly Standing Committee assigned the Economic Committee to preside over and coordinate with the Ethnic Council and the National Assembly Committees to examine the investment policy of the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project.

To prepare the appraisal report for submission to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision, the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee organized a working group to survey the project in the provinces from Hanoi to Nam Dinh on October 27 and from Ho Chi Minh City to Khanh Hoa in early November 2024.

Mr. Vu Hong Thanh, Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, emphasized the important role of the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis (Photo: Ta Hai).

At the meeting with relevant agencies and the provinces of Hanoi, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An at the People's Committee of Nam Dinh province, Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh emphasized that the 10-year socio-economic development strategy 2021-2030 has identified the development of transport infrastructure as one of the three strategic breakthroughs. In which, priority should be given to the development of railway transport.

The 13th Central Executive Committee issued Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW dated September 20, 2024, which determined: Unanimously agreeing on the investment policy for the entire high-speed railway project (350km/h) on the North-South axis.

Mr. Vu Hong Thanh emphasized that this is an important project, the contents need to be clarified before reporting to the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly for consideration and approval. At the same time, he stated the contents that need to be clarified such as: Route direction, TOD; location of the station for effective transport exploitation, connection issues with traffic infrastructure, other modes of transport; Progress needs to be considered in the overall need for capital allocation for other projects, there needs to be an order of priority; Plan to promptly implement site clearance and resettlement.

“The Ministry of Transport needs to continue to study and absorb the opinions of delegates, in addition to issues such as: overpasses through localities, adjusting planning to develop TOD, maintenance plans... to ensure investment and cost efficiency,” said Mr. Vu Hong Thanh.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy clearly informed the contents requested by National Assembly deputies (Photo: Ta Hai).

At the meeting, National Assembly delegates highly agreed on the necessity of building a North-South high-speed railway. However, the report suggested that it is necessary to clarify some issues regarding implementation progress and feasibility so that construction can start in 2027; central and local capital sources; solutions for early and rapid site clearance, etc.

Responding to the opinions of National Assembly delegates, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that this is a new, difficult, special, and unprecedented project. Therefore, the research process was very careful and thorough, absorbing the opinions of many domestic and foreign experts and consultants; organizing to learn from international experiences...

Regarding station location, based on demand forecast, consider stations as control points, from which determine related factors. Route direction and station location have been updated according to national and local planning.

As in Hanoi, Thuong Tin station is currently a freight station, a northern hub, including both high-speed railway and existing railway. The entire Phu Xuyen area is dedicated to developing the railway industry by about 200 hectares. At the Ngoc Hoi complex, a passenger station will be located.

To clarify the route plan, the Ministry of Transport will continue to calculate in more detail the investment, exploitation and operation costs when placing or not placing stations, ensuring "the straightest possible".

Regarding the plan for an elevated route, crossing many existing national highways and railways, Deputy Minister Huy said that the characteristic of high-speed railways is that they run on high-speed lines. The North-South high-speed railway will also mainly run on overpasses to reduce land occupation, avoid community isolation and flood impacts, especially in the Central region.

National Assembly delegates and provincial leaders highly agreed on the need to invest in the North-South high-speed railway (Photo: Ta Hai).

Regarding the development of TOD models at stations, Mr. Huy said that high-speed railways in the world have two trends. The first trend is that stations only operate for transport; The second trend is that when placing stations, TOD development must be included, and international experience is all given to local development. However, within a country, depending on the route, some stations develop TOD, while others operate purely for transport.

For the North-South high-speed railway project, the Ministry of Transport has determined that the station has 3 areas: Functional area; Commercial area; TOD area. TOD is assigned to the locality to implement. Regarding the mechanism, it is proposed that the revenue from TOD development after deducting the cost of site clearance will be retained 50% and paid to the Central Government 50%.

"The Ministry of Transport has received the opinions of the delegates and will continue to clarify and detail them in the process of preparing the feasibility study report and the next steps," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Danh Huy.

Station arrangement to meet increased transport demand

Previously, reporting to the survey team, Mr. Dao Ngoc Vinh, General Director of Transport Design Consulting Corporation (TEDI), the consultant representative for the pre-feasibility study report, said that the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project has a total main line length of about 1,541km, starting at Ngoc Hoi station; ending at Thu Thiem station, passing through 20 localities.

The line is built with double-track railway, 1,435mm gauge, electrified, designed speed 350km/h, load capacity 22.5 tons/axle; transporting passengers, meeting dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary.

The National Assembly delegation surveyed the site at the planned location of the Nam Dinh high-speed railway station (Photo: Ta Hai).

The total preliminary investment is about 67.34 billion USD. Regarding the project implementation progress, it is expected that the investment policy will be approved in the fourth quarter of 2024; the pre-feasibility study report will be prepared and approved from 2025-2026; site clearance will be carried out, bidding will be held to select contractors, and the project will start in 2027; and the entire route will be basically completed by 2035.

There are 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations on the route. The station arrangement is based on the relationship between speed and reasonable stop distance. With a speed of 350km/h, the reasonable distance is more than 50km for a station. At the same time, the station location must be suitable for current conditions and local planning; prioritize access to existing central urban areas and planned areas with new development potential; have good connectivity with other transport systems; effectively exploit infrastructure and vehicles.

However, according to consultants, in the future, when the locality forms an urban area with a large enough population and the distance ensures exploitation, additional stations will be researched and assigned to localities or investors to implement in the form of socialization.

The National Assembly delegation surveyed the site at the planned location of the Ngoc Hoi complex (Photo: Ta Hai).

The consultant also said that the provinces/cities that the route passes through have had documents agreeing on the route direction, location, scale of stations, depots, and maintenance stations.

As for the route from Hanoi to Nghe An passing through Nam Dinh province, the route will go to the West, about 12.5km from Nam Dinh city and the station location is in Hung Loc ward, Nam Dinh city, near Dang Xa station of the current railway line.

According to Mr. Vinh, Nam Dinh is the center of the Southern Delta provinces including Nam Dinh, Thai Binh and part of Hung Yen, with a population of about 4 million people by 2030. The placement of the high-speed railway station will lead to development for the whole region. On the other hand, the arrangement of the high-speed railway station in the new development area of ​​Nam Dinh city, close enough to the existing city, close to the center of the Southern Delta provinces, so TOD can be developed well.

Experience in the world also shows that many routes do not go directly, but arrange stations to meet passenger transport needs, such as the Tokohu Shinkansen line (Japan), some high-speed railway lines in Korea and Germany.

“To straighten the route through Nam Dinh to Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh station will have to be removed, or if it is arranged, it will be far from the provincial and regional centers, so it will not be attractive; at the same time, Nam Dinh station is very close to Phu Ly station, which is not suitable for station placement,” said Mr. Vinh.

Agreeing with the route plan and station location, Mr. Nguyen Hai Dung, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nam Dinh Province, added that this route is reasonable because in addition to meeting passenger needs, it also avoids relic sites in the area such as Tran Temple and Phu Day; at the same time, there is land fund for TOD development, and there is a planning of connecting roads...

Perspective of Ngoc Hoi complex (Photo: Ta Hai).

Also related to the location of the Hanoi terminal station of the North-South high-speed railway, Mr. Vinh said that the Ngoc Hoi complex will include Ngoc Hoi passenger station of the high-speed railway, the existing national railway and the urban railway; depot area; maintenance station. Freight transport will be at Thuong Tin station, along with the railway industrial park.

Mr. Do Viet Hai, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Transport, said that Hanoi highly agrees with the proposal in the pre-feasibility study report because this is the optimal route for Hanoi. The transportation demand of the southern hub of Hanoi is very large, both in terms of passengers and goods. Therefore, compared to the previous study that arranged the freight station in the complex, now arranging Thuong Tin freight station outside the 4th ring road will avoid congestion and connect with other railway lines.

Hanoi has also allocated land for the route. Moreover, investing in high-speed railways with such functional areas will help Hanoi improve its urban areas; create jobs; and create new space for development.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/doan-cong-tac-quoc-hoi-khao-sat-thuc-te-du-an-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-bac-nam-19224102717075228.htm