Da Lat - Trai Mat railway is seriously degraded.

The more than 7 km long Da Lat - Trai Mat railway serving tourists has seriously degraded, causing traffic insecurity, according to Lam Dong provincial authorities.

The content was stated by the People's Committee of Lam Dong province in a document recently sent to the Ministry of Transport , proposing to renovate and upgrade the infrastructure of the above railway line to ensure train safety and attract tourists to Da Lat city.

Tourist boat on the Trai Mat - Da Lat route. Photo: Phuoc Tuan — Tourist boat on the Trai Mat - Da Lat route. Photo: *Phuoc Tuan*

Da Lat - Trai Mat belongs to Thap Cham - Da Lat railway, is one of the first two mountain-climbing cog railways in the world , started in 1908, completed in 1932. From 1968, the war was fierce, the line stopped operating due to lack of safety. After 1975, almost all the rails and sleepers were removed. In 1991, the Da Lat - Trai Mat section was restored, including more than 6.7 km of main road, more than 800 m of station road... to carry tourists.

According to the Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee, recent inspections by the authorities showed that this railway has seriously degraded. Some locations on the route have local landslides, wastewater and garbage are causing traffic safety problems, affecting tourists and local residents.

Specifically, the line has many continuous curves but no guard rails; passes through high mountainous areas, steep slopes, especially the slope in front of Trai Mat station. The railway bed is on average 5 m wide, with many locations where the bed is dug deep and raised, heavy rains flood the road from 20-50 cm, affecting the train when running.

In addition, the train rails have been worn and damaged; the turntables have worn beyond standard, and there are no replacement parts... Warehouses, locomotive storage buildings, carriages, and locomotive repair pits have seriously degraded.

Da Lat - Trai Mat railway route. Graphics: Dang Hieu — Da Lat - Trai Mat railway route. Graphics: *Dang Hieu*

Earlier this year, Bach Dang Hotel Service Trading Joint Stock Company submitted to the Ministry of Transport a pre-feasibility study report on the project to restore the Thap Cham - Da Lat railway line with a total investment of nearly VND25,000 billion, under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

The route will pass through Phan Rang City, Ninh Son District (Ninh Thuan) and Don Duong District, Da Lat City (Lam Dong), with a length of 83.5 km, with 16 stations and passenger stations. The track is 1,000 mm wide, with a designed speed of 30-60 km/h, using diesel locomotives and light-duty trucks.

Project implementation period from January 2025 to June 2029, construction from June 2026 to December 2028, testing and operation from June 2029 to December 2029.

Truong Ha School

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