Reasons for choosing Ngoc Hoi and Thu Thiem as the two high-speed railway hub stations

(Dan Tri) - Ngoc Hoi Station Complex, Thu Thiem will meet the functions of the North-South high-speed railway station, metro station and existing national railway station.

Regarding the North-South high-speed railway project,   The Ministry of Transport said it had agreed with the People's Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to choose Ngoc Hoi and Thu Thiem stations as the starting and ending stations of the line. These are both "suburban" locations, requiring urban railway planning to connect with inner-city residential areas.

Why not choose Hanoi station?

From a passenger access perspective, Hanoi station, which was planned during the French period, is still an ideal location to be the starting point of the North-South high-speed railway line. This station is located in the inner city center, where population density and travel demand are very high.

Hanoi Railway Station (Photo: Nguyen Truong).

However, the project consultant said that the land fund at Hanoi station   Currently, there are about 14 hectares left, only enough to arrange the station system, train pick-up and drop-off roads, cannot arrange squares, repair facilities, train parking lots... so there is not enough area to build a hub station. The road system around Hanoi station is small in scale, there is no room for expansion. Le Duan and Tran Quy Cap streets have a scale of 2 lanes, Tran Hung Dao street has a scale of 4 lanes. Similarly, the land fund in the Hoa Hung station area (Saigon station) is only about 17 hectares, not enough area to build a hub station. Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, Tran Van Dang, Nguyen Thong streets have a scale of 2 lanes, Cach Mang Thang 8 street has a scale of 4 lanes.

Saigon Station (also known as Hoa Hung Station) is stuck in the urban area, with no room for expansion (Photo: Hai Long).

Currently, the National Railway Network Planning identifies the North-South high-speed railway route from Ngoc Hoi station to Thu Thiem station. In particular, Ngoc Hoi station is the terminal station connecting the national railway (existing) and the urban railway. Thu Thiem station is the terminal station connecting via the urban railway from Thu Thiem station to Ben Thanh station, Hoa Hung station and Tan Son Nhat airport. Thus, all plans orient the starting point of the North-South high-speed railway route at Ngoc Hoi terminal station, the end point at Thu Thiem station. The project consultant recommends choosing Ngoc Hoi and Thu Thiem stations as the starting and ending points of the North-South high-speed railway route, and at the same time as the terminal stations of the railway routes in the North and South regions.

Station scale and connection plan to the center

Currently, Hanoi City plans to reserve about 250 hectares of land for the Ngoc Hoi complex to build a fully functional national and urban terminal. The Ngoc Hoi area has been planned with a synchronous traffic connection system (ring roads 3, 5, ring roads 4, national highway 1, 3 urban railway lines (1, 1A, 6) and a bus system, a square for taxis and private vehicles to access and relieve passengers.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the city plans to allocate 77.7 hectares of land to build Thu Thiem station and depot. Around Thu Thiem station, there are ring roads 3, 5, ring roads 4, National Highway 1, metro lines 2 and 10, Thu Thiem - Long Thanh regional railway, bus system, square... It is expected that by 2050, the total passenger demand at Ngoc Hoi station will be about 170,000 passengers/day and night, of which about 46,000 passengers will need to go to the center (about 27%), the remaining 124,000 passengers will go to other districts and provinces (about 73%). The total passenger demand at Thu Thiem station will be about 137,000 passengers/day and night, of which 41,000 passengers will need to go to the center (30%), the remaining 96,000 passengers will go to other districts and provinces (70%). With the above needs, the Project Consultant has calculated a plan to exploit a mixed high-speed railway and urban railway from Ngoc Hoi station to Hanoi station. According to this plan, metro line 1 Yen Vien - Ngoc Hoi will pass through Hanoi station and must ensure shared infrastructure for both high-speed railway. However, during peak hours, high-speed trains will have to stop running to prioritize the exploitation of urban trains.

Current status of the land planned to build Ngoc Hoi station complex (Photo: Ngoc Tan).

In case the high-speed train stops at Ngoc Hoi, passengers will get off the train, move to the urban railway station located next to it and take a metro line into the inner city. According to the Consultant, this option is feasible with the operating capacity of the Yen Vien - Ngoc Hoi metro line. In the center of Ho Chi Minh City, metro line No. 2 will connect to Hoa Hung station, transfer with line No. 6 to Tan Son Nhat airport, line No. 10 connects Tan Kien passenger terminal station and the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh intra-regional railway line connects Long Thanh airport to collect and release passengers. In addition, the North - South high-speed railway project has also planned a branch line connecting Long Thanh airport with An Binh, Hoa Hung and Tan Kien terminal stations to organize passenger transport into the city center when there is a large enough demand.

The project consultant has studied international experience and identified two trends in station arrangement: located in urban areas or near urban areas (suburbs). The trend is located in urban areas such as Berlin station (Germany), Tokyo station (Japan), Seoul station (Korea). The advantage is that passengers can easily access it, but the disadvantage is that it requires a large land fund, which is planned synchronously. The trend is located near urban areas such as Beijing station (China), Paris station (France). This model has the advantage of creating conditions for planning and building a synchronously connected transport system, with land fund for urban, industrial and service development. The disadvantage is that the level of passenger access is not high. After research, the consultant has arranged many stations in the direction of being located near urban areas, including Ngoc Hoi and Thu Thiem stations. Urban railway lines will be designed to connect these two stations with the urban centers of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/ly-do-chon-ngoc-hoi-thu-thiem-la-2-ga-dau-moi-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-20241010224325340.htm