More hope for reviving the railway line to Ha Long

The Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project has consumed a lot of ink from the press, when the project was expected to be restarted many times, adjusted in scale, transferred investors... However, up to this point, for many reasons, the project is still "inactive". And recently, a new hope has been rekindled when the Ministry of Construction is studying the project's pre-feasibility report, including adjusting the function, proposing to adjust the design from freight to passenger transport.

Previously, the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project was invested when it was forecasted that the transportation demand on the route would be mainly goods, from the Yunnan region (China) connecting to Cai Lan port ( Quang Ninh ). The project was approved by the Prime Minister for investment in 2004 using government bond capital, 131km long, connecting Yen Vien station with Cai Lan port, with a total investment of more than 7,660 billion VND. However, by 2011, the project was suspended due to the Government's policy of cutting public investment.

The Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project has been "suspended" for more than ten years.

To restart the project, the Ministry of Construction is studying the project's pre-feasibility report, proposing to adjust the design from mainly freight to passenger transport. Because according to the research results conducted by the consulting consortium, the main transport demand on this route by 2050 is passengers, increasing to 7-8 million passengers per year, while cargo will decrease to 2.7-3.3 million tons per year. Therefore, the Ministry of Construction assesses the need to adjust the project's investment policy.

According to the pre-feasibility study report, the consulting consortium proposed not to invest in the 1,435mm and 1,000mm dual gauge track on the Lim - Pha Lai - Ha Long section as before, but to adjust it to a single gauge track of 1,435mm. The reason is that the demand for freight transport with a 1,000mm gauge track is low, while the investment, maintenance and repair costs for dual gauge tracks are about 1.25 times higher than for a single track of 1,435mm. The consulting consortium proposed a maximum design speed of 120 km/h for passenger trains and 80 km/h for freight trains. 4 new stations will be built including Nam Son, Chau Cau, New Chi Linh and Cai Lan; 8 stations will be renovated and 19 new bridges will be built; 36 bridges on the current railway line will be upgraded. With the new planned investment scale, the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project will have a new total investment of 9,989 billion VND.

The Railway Project Management Board proposed that the competent authority allocate state budget capital in the medium-term public investment plan for the period 2026-2030. The project will be implemented from 2026 to 2030 and put into operation in 2031.

Previously, the Ministry of Construction sent a document to the Railway Project Management Board requesting a review of the investment plan for the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway line. In particular, the Ministry of Construction requested this unit to study and evaluate the proposal of Vingroup Corporation on investing in the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line and the possibility of combining investment with the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway line to make the most of the invested works and construction items.

The Railway Project Management Board studies and evaluates additional investment scenarios with speed ranges of 160 km/h and 300 km/h to propose the selection of effective investment scenarios; at the same time, proposes investment methods and solutions on accompanying mechanisms and policies (if any).

And recently, Vingroup Corporation has proposed to the competent authority to invest in the construction of the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line and add this railway line to the railway network planning for the 2021-2030 period and vision to 2050.

The Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway has a designed speed of 350 km/h, exclusively for passenger trains, 1,435 mm gauge, electrified. The starting point of the route is at the National Exhibition Fair Center, Hanoi City; the ending point is at the forest park area of ​​Tuan Chau ward, Quang Ninh province with a total length of 120.9 km.

Regarding the route, Vingroup proposed that from Co Loa station, Hanoi, the route would follow the road connecting to Gia Binh airport, Bac Ninh province, continue through Hai Duong to Yen Tu, Quang Ninh province. Then the railway would continue to the final destination, the forest park area, Tuan Chau ward, Quang Ninh province.

It is expected that the Hanoi - Quang Ninh railway line will have 4 stations including Co Loa, Gia Binh, Yen Tu and Ha Long; if the plan to go through Yen Vien is implemented, there will be an additional Yen Vien station. The project will require 308 hectares of land, with an investment of about 5.4 billion USD (equivalent to 133,175 billion VND), and will be implemented until 2030.

Hopefully, with the participation of the Ministry of Construction, along with the investment research of major investors, the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway will soon be reinvested to create another effective traffic route, thereby contributing to overcoming the situation of suspended projects, avoiding wasting investment resources for projects as in the recent past.

Peace

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/them-hi-vong-hoi-sinh-duong-sat-den-ha-long-3363350.html