Shipyards join in building trains

Shipbuilding enterprises can absolutely participate in building railway cars, in the context of many large railway projects about to be implemented. In fact, there are shipbuilding enterprises that have been very successful in building railway cars…

Can close both passenger and freight cars

While busy checking the train cars and preparing them before putting them into service for passenger transport at Hanoi station, Mr. Nguyen Hong Linh, Deputy General Director of Railway Transport Joint Stock Company, shared with reporters: "Few people know that these train cars were newly built by Song Cam Shipyard. The order was made in 2017 and is still going very well."

Song Cam Shipbuilding Joint Stock Company builds new passenger cars.

Talking about the opportunity for the shipyard to build trains, Mr. Linh said that at that time, Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company (now merged with Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company to become Railway Transport Joint Stock Company) implemented projects to build new modern passenger cars.

Surprisingly, the winning bidder was Song Cam Shipbuilding Joint Stock Company. Initially, Song Cam built dozens of passenger cars, then continued to bid and build dozens of freight cars.

"For passenger cars, except for some parts and running equipment that must be imported, the company sends the design drawings, and Song Cam constructs the entire structure. For high-wall freight cars, Song Cam builds the body, and other equipment such as transfer racks, brake valves, and punching heads are imported from abroad.

Overall, in terms of mechanics, Song Cam is very professional, from the workshop, machinery to industrial cleaning. Over time, the carriages have operated well," Mr. Linh assessed.

Managing in a difficult situation

Mr. Dam Quang Trung, General Director of Song Cam Shipbuilding Joint Stock Company, said that Song Cam was then a prestigious partner in Vietnam in shipbuilding, steel structures, and marine works. The company specialized in building ships for export to Europe and other markets around the world , including tugboats, high-speed boats, offshore service ships, cargo ships, passenger ships, and industrial steel structures.

The freight car was built at Song Cam Shipbuilding Joint Stock Company.

In 2017, the shipbuilding market has not recovered. The traditional customer, Damen Group (Netherlands), also faced difficulties, which affected Song Cam's work.

Identifying its strength in steel structure shipbuilding, the company boldly participated in building railway cars. In 2017-2018, Song Cam built 25 28-bed sleeper cars made of composite materials; In 2018, it built 4 56-seat soft seat cars.

In 2021, the unit continued to construct 15 liquid tank cars for Railway Transport and Trade Joint Stock Company (Ratraco) and 20 high-wall freight cars (H cars) for Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company.

"At first, we were quite confused because the structure of the train cars as well as the mechanical parts have different standards from ships. For example, the train car walls use corrugated iron, so the technical requirements for welding must ensure penetration, deformation and aesthetics are more difficult," Mr. Trung shared.

However, according to Mr. Trung, Song Cam did not take long to get used to this new order. In fact, some steps in applying technology and standards in shipbuilding are much higher than those in railway carbuilding. Typically, the technology of shot blasting before painting to improve product quality, durability and save labor.

"Some train cars designed in Vietnam are not suitable for construction practice and are inconvenient to use. Many materials, equipment and accessories for constructing the base and train body have not been standardized and use types available on the domestic market.

In addition, it is necessary to improve the structural design and choose materials to minimize noise in the train cars during operation. The design of the restroom needs to pay more attention to convenience for users," said Mr. Trung.

Regarding vehicle inspection, according to Mr. Trung, it is necessary to supplement standards and regulations for the localization of equipment such as air spring bogies, braking devices, and car connection devices. Regulations and standards need to be updated and adjusted to suit materials and equipment from many different sources of supply...

Need preferential development mechanism

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, Deputy General Director of Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC), the experience of Song Cam shows that shipbuilding enterprises can completely participate in building railway cars.

"The railway mechanical industry market is very open. In the near future, many new investment projects to build and modernize railway lines will be implemented. Typical examples include the North-South high-speed railway project, the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway project, and urban railway network construction projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City...", Mr. Dat said, adding that Vietnam currently has 88 shipbuilding enterprises and 411 inland waterway vehicle manufacturing facilities. The factory system spans the country with diverse production capacity, meeting domestic and international demand.

SBIC units have been applying international standards in production, meeting the most stringent requirements of ship owners from the Netherlands, UK, Canada, Norway, Korea, etc., so they are able to meet the strict requirements on technology, quality, and standards of the railway industry.

However, Mr. Dat also frankly acknowledged the difficulties in accessing preferential loans and mobilizing capital from external financial sources to invest in developing train production technology.

According to SBIC statistics, in the period of 2022-2023, SBIC only mobilized about 3% of the capital needed for technology innovation investment projects.

Mr. Dat recommended that the Government develop and issue solutions for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the National Railway System Development Program such as tax exemption and reduction policies, preferential loans, support for training costs, technology transfer... to promote domestic production; Allow domestic enterprises to enjoy loan support from international financial institutions in investing in railway projects in Vietnam...

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, Deputy General Director of SBIC, shipbuilding enterprises under SBIC have relatively modern factory systems and production lines (such as automatic welding robots, laser cutting machines and anti-corrosion painting lines according to European standards), which can be converted to produce train car components.

Enterprises also have full specialized equipment for precision mechanical processing; a team of well-trained engineers and workers with experience proven through exported mechanical products; welding skills are certified in Japan, Norway, France, etc.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nha-may-tau-thuy-nhap-cuoc-dong-tau-hoa-192250324233844898.htm