A train travels on the Ghenh Bridge. Most bridges on the railway connecting Hanoi and HCM City were built a century ago using French standards with low capacities. (Photo: VNA/VNS)Hanoi (VNA) – Up to 131 weak bridges on the North-South railwaywill be repaired or replaced by 2021.
The project, which will receive 1.95 trillion VND (83.85 million USD) ininvestment from the State Budget, is set to rebuild 119 bridges and upgrade 12others from 2018 to 2021.
According to the Railway Management Board, most bridges on the railwayconnecting Hanoi and HCM City were built a century ago using French standardswith low capacities.
Stone and concrete abutments have weathered over time. Steelgirders are cracked and covered in rust.
Meanwhile, the development of river transport has put pressure on weak railwaybridges.
To ensure safety and minimise losses caused by collisions between waterwayvehicles and railway bridges, there is an urgent need for repair or replacement.
Moreover, railway lines were severely destroyed in wartime. Althoughbridges have been repaired, their capacities are still limited, reducing therailway’s competitiveness compared to other means of transport.
“The project aims to increase bridges’ capacity to 4.2 tonnes per metre,ensure safety and increase average speed. It will help to lift a 25-carriagetrain’s average transport capacity up to 140 tonnes, utilise pulling power ofmodern locomotives and enhance effectiveness of the investment,” the boardannounced.
According to Vu Anh Minh, head of the Vietnam Railways Members’ Council,investment into railway improvement remains low, meeting only 1 percent ofdemand.
At present, 6 trillion VND (258 million USD) is needed to upgrade railwayinfrastructure; however, only 30 percent has been funded.
“With that 30 percent, we have to choose facilities that need urgentrepair. Meanwhile, other constructions have become degraded, posing threats torailway safety,” said Minh.
“To increase the average speed by 10 percent, 10 trillion VND (430 millionUSD) is needed to upgrade the whole North-South railway system. By reducingtraveling time from 11 hours to 10 hours, the difference in economic value isnot high while the cost is huge. Therefore, Vietnam Railways focuses more onincreasing trains’ loading capacity,” he added.
There are more than 1,400 bridges with a total length of 36,332m on theNorth-South railway. Many of them have very low capacity of about 3.6 tonnesper metre, especially in parts between the central city of Da Nang and HCM City.
On March 20, 2016, the collapse of Ghenh Bridge in the southern provinceof Dong Nai shut down the North-South railway, leaving enterprises dealing withsoaring transport costs.
The collision between a barge and the bridge pillar destroyed Ghenh Bridgeand isolated Saigon Station in HCM City and Song Than Station in Dong Naiprovince from the national railway line.
The bridge was repaired and came into operation in July, 2016, three monthsafter the incident.-VNA
The project, which will receive 1.95 trillion VND (83.85 million USD) ininvestment from the State Budget, is set to rebuild 119 bridges and upgrade 12others from 2018 to 2021.
According to the Railway Management Board, most bridges on the railwayconnecting Hanoi and HCM City were built a century ago using French standardswith low capacities.
Stone and concrete abutments have weathered over time. Steelgirders are cracked and covered in rust.
Meanwhile, the development of river transport has put pressure on weak railwaybridges.
To ensure safety and minimise losses caused by collisions between waterwayvehicles and railway bridges, there is an urgent need for repair or replacement.
Moreover, railway lines were severely destroyed in wartime. Althoughbridges have been repaired, their capacities are still limited, reducing therailway’s competitiveness compared to other means of transport.
“The project aims to increase bridges’ capacity to 4.2 tonnes per metre,ensure safety and increase average speed. It will help to lift a 25-carriagetrain’s average transport capacity up to 140 tonnes, utilise pulling power ofmodern locomotives and enhance effectiveness of the investment,” the boardannounced.
According to Vu Anh Minh, head of the Vietnam Railways Members’ Council,investment into railway improvement remains low, meeting only 1 percent ofdemand.
At present, 6 trillion VND (258 million USD) is needed to upgrade railwayinfrastructure; however, only 30 percent has been funded.
“With that 30 percent, we have to choose facilities that need urgentrepair. Meanwhile, other constructions have become degraded, posing threats torailway safety,” said Minh.
“To increase the average speed by 10 percent, 10 trillion VND (430 millionUSD) is needed to upgrade the whole North-South railway system. By reducingtraveling time from 11 hours to 10 hours, the difference in economic value isnot high while the cost is huge. Therefore, Vietnam Railways focuses more onincreasing trains’ loading capacity,” he added.
There are more than 1,400 bridges with a total length of 36,332m on theNorth-South railway. Many of them have very low capacity of about 3.6 tonnesper metre, especially in parts between the central city of Da Nang and HCM City.
On March 20, 2016, the collapse of Ghenh Bridge in the southern provinceof Dong Nai shut down the North-South railway, leaving enterprises dealing withsoaring transport costs.
The collision between a barge and the bridge pillar destroyed Ghenh Bridgeand isolated Saigon Station in HCM City and Song Than Station in Dong Naiprovince from the national railway line.
The bridge was repaired and came into operation in July, 2016, three monthsafter the incident.-VNA
VNA
