High-speed railway will connect and develop key economic zones.
Báo điện tử VOV•23/10/2024
VOV.VN - According to the proposed research consultant, the high-speed railway on the North-South axis will be invested with a design speed of 350 km/h. Once completed, the project will increase railway transport capacity, connect and promote the development of key economic regions of the country, and have an overall spillover effect on the economy.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, former Deputy Chairman of the Economic Committee of the 14th National Assembly, member of the Expert Group of the Steering Committee for the development and implementation of the Project on investment in high-speed railways, gave an example of Ha Tinh province with the Vung Ang Economic Zone: although it is a key area, it currently takes a lot of time for an expert/investor from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to come here.
Because of the long distance, you have to fly to Vinh or Quang Binh and then travel by car to Ha Tinh. Meanwhile, if there is a high-speed railway, traveling from the two economic locomotives of the country (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) to the Vung Ang economic zone will be quick and convenient. At that time, the Vung Ang economic zone will truly be a national key economic zone.
Therefore, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, determining the most important investment in the high-speed railway project is the spillover effect on socio-economic development, when creating favorable conditions to connect key economic regions of the country together: "The important thing is the spillover effect of this project on socio-economic development. The impact opens up development space, not only for the 20 localities the project passes through, but also affects other localities. The spillover effect is often not as present as the direct impact, but the spillover effect is often more important than the direct impact of the project, bringing overall economic efficiency. As emphasized in the Central report, the North-South high-speed railway opens up new development space".
High-speed railway will connect and develop key economic zones. (Illustration photo) The speed of 350km/h chosen for project implementation will solve the problem of distance in project investment and construction. Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that the Ministry of Transport has clearly identified the challenges when implementing the project. According to international experience, high-speed railway lines such as in Germany, the Stuttgart-Mannheim line is 99km long, with a design speed of 300km/h running with freight trains at 120-160km/h (passenger trains run during the day, freight trains run at night). Railways are different from roads in that they have a train schedule, not every station stops, each station has a forecast of passenger demand, changing according to the time of day and season. Based on that, a train schedule can be built, which can run between stations. Looking directly at the current reality, when aviation is struggling to maintain flights of less than 500km (usually unprofitable). Airlines are using profits from long-haul flights to offset losses on short-haul flights. Or the situation where the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City route still has passenger transport buses running continuously by road. In other words, aviation and road are having to undertake passenger transport on distances that do not have advantages, while the advantage of railways is still open. Therefore, the planning process of the transport sector has considered the potential and advantages of each method to build a development scenario. Accordingly, for passenger transport, short-distance (under 150km) is dominated by road; medium-distance (150 - 800km) high-speed rail is completely dominant; long-distance (over 800km) the market share mainly belongs to aviation and a part of high-speed railway. In order to promote the advantages of each mode of transport to ensure economic development associated with national defense and security, when connecting economic zones in medium-sized areas, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy emphasized: "The new high-speed railway line basically meets the main function of transporting passengers and light goods. The important point is the connection for economic development. We also consider linking economic development with national defense and security. Therefore, the function of the high-speed railway line is planned like that. The function of the high-speed railway is decided by the Politburo and the Central Committee". According to world experience, high-speed railway lines are the main axis, with large lengths, all choose a speed of 350km/h or more for efficiency. Regarding transport function, from international experience, the capacity of the current infrastructure system, the results of transport demand forecasting, the transport function of the North-South high-speed railway is recommended as follows: The high-speed railway transports passengers, meets the dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary. Thus, investment in the construction of the high-speed railway will make an important contribution to restructuring the market share of passenger transport between modes in a sustainable direction. At the same time, connecting many key economic regions of our country, creating a basis for exploiting the advantages of the region to promote economic development. Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of Vietnam Railways, analyzed: "Railways have an advantage in passenger transport distances of about 150-800km. For high-speed railways, time is an important measure of value, while high-speed railways will shorten people's travel time. Shortening the distance between regions creates a reduction in population in central areas, making it easier for people to travel, helping localities develop tourism very well. With international experience such as Japan and Korea, localities after having high-speed railways pass through have seen their GDP grow very well." Affirming that there will certainly be many challenges due to the large scale of the project and the pressure on progress, but to solve this problem, the implementing agency will invite design consultants, supervision consultants, domestic and international contractors with enough capacity to meet the requirements. This is a project that demonstrates the great political determination of the Party, and is a driving force that needs to prioritize investment resources. The Ministry of Transport is continuing to work with agencies to identify issues more clearly, ensuring the feasibility of the project. The most important thing is to clarify the spillover factors, connect key economic zones of the country, promote the strengths of transport modes to realize the goals of growth and economic development of our country.
![[Photo] Binh Trieu 1 Bridge has been completed, raised by 1.1m, and will open to traffic at the end of November.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/10/2/a6549e2a3b5848a1ba76a1ded6141fae)
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