Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)The draft planning on railway development was crafted bythe Ministry of Transport and submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.
Under the planning, the national railway network willhave 25 major lines with total length of 6,409km. Seven of them are currentlyin use, namely the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi – Lao Cai, Hanoi (Gia LamStation) – Hai Phong, Hanoi (Dong Anh Station) – Thai Nguyen (Quan TrieuStation), Hanoi (Yen Vien Station) – Lang Son (Dong Dang Station), Kep – ChiLinh, and Kep – Luu Xa, which have combined length of 2,440km.
Construction will start or continue for majorroutes – the North-South high-speed railway, Bien Hoa – Vung Tau, Vung Ang – TanAp – Mu Gia, Di An – Loc Ninh, HCM City – Can Tho, Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong,and Hanoi – Dong Dang.
Over the next 10 years, priority will be given in termsof funding allocation to two sections of the North-South high-speedrailway connecting Hanoi and Vinh, and HCM City and Nha Trang. Work on the Vinh– Da Nang section is expected to finish by 2040 and that of Da Nang – Nha Trangby 2050.
A number of intra- and inter-regional rail routes willalso be developed by 2050 for both transport and tourism purposes.
The upgrade of the existing lines and construction of newones to 2030 will cost an estimated 240 trillion VND (over 1 billion USD) sourced from both State andnon-State budgets./.
VNA
