Expanding planning to welcome major railway infrastructure projects

Adjusting the Railway Network Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, will open up opportunities for many investors to participate. In photo: Thu Thiem Station

Second high-speed rail line

Up to now, the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line is the second high-speed railway project with a speed of 350 km/h in Vietnam, which is being considered for investment by the Ministry of Construction under the PPP form.

Previously, the Vietnam Railway Authority received the investment plan for the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line under the PPP form from Vingroup Corporation. According to Vingroup's proposal, the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line is proposed to be a high-speed railway belonging to the national railway network; designed speed of 350 km/h, exclusively operated for passenger trains; track gauge of 1,435 mm, electrified.

The route starts at the Vietnam Exhibition Center (Co Loa, Hanoi ); ends at the Forest Park, Dai Yen Ward (Ha Long, Quang Ninh Province, opposite Vinhomes Ha Long Xanh Urban Area) with a total route length of about 120.9 km.

The Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line is expected to have 4 stations, including Co Loa, Gia Binh, Yen Tu and Ha Long. The estimated land requirement for the line is about 308.98 hectares; the investment capital requirement is about 5.4 billion USD (equivalent to 133,175 billion VND); the implementation period is during the planning period until 2030.

“Because the Hanoi - Quang Ninh high-speed railway line is not included in the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050. Therefore, in order for this project to have a legal basis for implementation, the competent state agency needs to approve the planning content of the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line and add this railway line to the adjustment of the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030 and a vision to 2050,” said Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of the Vietnam Railway Authority.

It is known that the addition of the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line to the planning, with an investment roadmap before 2030, is also one of the contents of the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030 and vision to 2050 that the Vietnam Railway Authority is proposing to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and approval.

Specifically, in Document No. 2078/TTr-CĐSVN on approving the adjustment of the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, sent to the Ministry of Construction in the middle of last week, the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line was proposed by the Vietnam Railway Authority to be added to the planning with an investment progress before 2030.

According to the Vietnam Railway Authority, the existing railway lines on the Hanoi - Quang Ninh corridor are old railways with many limitations, mixed transport of both passenger and freight trains, with low technical standards, not attracting and satisfying the requirements of passengers. Meanwhile, the demand for high-quality passenger transport on this transport corridor is constantly increasing, along with the socio-economic development of the provinces in the project research area.

It is expected that the high-speed railway connecting Hanoi (political and economic capital) with Bac Ninh province (tourism, cultural and industrial center), Hai Phong (industry and agriculture) and Quang Ninh (tourism, industrial and seaport center) will create momentum for inter-regional economic development.

“In particular, the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line also connects with Gia Binh airport, helping to form a multimodal system (air - rail - road), reducing transportation costs and promoting international trade,” said the leader of the Vietnam Railway Authority.

Many notable adjustments

It should be added that the appearance of the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line is not the only proposal to adjust the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030 and vision to 2050.

Specifically, for the high-speed railway line on the North-South axis, the specialized state management agency proposed to add 5 high-speed freight stations in areas with potential to generate and attract freight transport demand, including: Thuong Tin (Hanoi), Vung Ang (Ha Tinh), Chu Lai (Quang Nam), Ninh Hoa (Khanh Hoa), Trang Bom (Dong Nai); add a connecting route to the freight station; adjust the high-speed railway depot from Thuong Tin to Ngoc Hoi area.

Regarding the division of functions between the high-speed railway line and the existing conventional railway line, the Vietnam Railway Authority proposed: the high-speed railway line will transport passengers, meet dual-use requirements for national defense and security, and can transport goods when necessary.

For existing railway lines, including the Thong Nhat railway line, it will undertake the function of transporting goods and passengers over suitable distances.

Another noteworthy adjustment in Document No. 2078 is that the implementation roadmap of many proposed railway routes has been pushed forward earlier than the Railway Network Planning for the period 2021 - 2030 and vision to 2050 approved in Decision No. 1579/QD-TTg dated September 22, 2021 of the Prime Minister (Plan No. 1579).

Specifically, the railway lines with adjusted investment progress in the period 2021 - 2030, instead of the period after 2030 are Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong; Hanoi - Dong Dang, 1,435 mm gauge, 156 km long; Ha Long - Mong Cai, 1,435 mm gauge, 150 km long; Thap Cham - Da Lat railway...

In addition, some railway lines in Planning No. 1579 are also proposed to be extended in scope and scale, including: Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway line (132 km long instead of 84 km); Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway line is oriented to be extended to Ca Mau when there is a large enough transport demand.

In the opposite direction, the Lim - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway line is proposed to adjust the scope and scale from "Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway line from Yen Vien Bac station to Cai Lan station: single track, mixed gauge 1,000 mm and 1,435 mm, length 129 km" to "upgrading and renovating the Kep - Chi Linh - Ha Long - Cai Lan section, single track, gauge 1,435 mm, length about 126 km and converting the function of the section from Lim to Pha Lai into a collector road of the Noi Bai - Ha Long expressway".

The Vietnam Railway Authority has recommended that the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh route not be included in the National Railway Network Planning to be converted into an urban railway.

This change is very important, because the latest research results show that the demand for travel on the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway line is mainly passengers between areas on the line (from Thu Thiem to Long Thanh) and passengers traveling between the central area of Ho Chi Minh City and the route area (including passengers traveling between Tan Son Nhat Airport and Long Thanh Airport).

Thus, the main target of the route is inner-suburban passengers (estimated to account for 85-90% of travel demand on the route by 2050), showing that the main function of the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway is urban passenger transport.

“Therefore, the adjustment of not including it in the national railway network planning is necessary, ensuring compliance with the orientation of the Party, the State and the approved National Master Plan, as well as the transportation needs on the route,” said Mr. Tran Thien Canh.

According to our information, the Ministry of Construction has proposed that the Prime Minister agree in principle to assign the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as the competent authority to invest in the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh urban railway project and assign the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to work and agree with the People's Committee of Dong Nai province on assigning the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as the competent authority to manage the project to report to the Prime Minister for decision according to the provisions of Article 30 of the Law on Public Investment.

The Ministry of Construction proposed that the head of the Government allow the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to study and add the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway line to the Ho Chi Minh City urban railway planning and propose that the Government consider and approve adding the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway line to the project list attached to Resolution No. 188/2025/QH15 dated February 19, 2025 of the National Assembly on piloting a number of specific and special mechanisms and policies to develop the urban railway network system in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Ministry of Construction said that this plan will help to soon deploy the railway connecting Tan Son Nhat International Airport with Long Thanh International Airport, ensuring unity and synchronization in construction, operation and maximum exploitation of land funds around the project area; increasing the initiative of localities in implementing the project.

"It is estimated that if the connecting route is applied with the above-mentioned special policy mechanism, the investment preparation work for the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Urban Railway Project will take about 1 year," said Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Danh Huy.

Three principles of planning adjustment

Adjustment of railway network planning is carried out according to the following principles:

Inheriting the approved model, spatial allocation orientation, infrastructure framework, regional and inter-regional connections; reviewing and updating contents in accordance with the current situation of implementing investment research on railway projects, forecasting transportation demand and the ability to balance resources to ensure the feasibility of the plan.

Only update contents that are consistent with the national master plan on identifying economic corridors, dynamic development zones, growth poles, solutions, resources to implement the plan, and progress of implementing important national projects.

Update the Party and State's development policies and orientations related to the goal of developing high-speed railways, railways connecting border gates, seaports and international airports to promote the development of transport infrastructure, regional, inter-regional and international transport connections.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/noi-quy-hoach-don-cac-dai-du-an-ha-tang-duong-sat-d386545.html