Total investment capital for the North-South high-speed railway project in Vietnam is expected to reach over US$58 billion, according to a consortium of consultants Tedi-Tricc-Tedis.
Illustrative photo.
|
The construction will be implemented in phases, of which the length of Hanoi - Vinh city section is 285 km, the Vinh city - Nha Trang city section of 364 km, and the Nha Trang city - Ho Chi Minh City 896 km.
Under the construction plan, the route sections from Hanoi to Vinh city and from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang city will be invested first in the 2020 - 2032 period at a cost of over US$24 billion.
According to the consortium, a long traveling trip would attract passengers with high-speed trains. For example, train with speed up to 200km per hour for the Hanoi - Nha Trang city section would have a market share of 2.7%, while the rate would be 14% for trains with speed up to 350km per hour.
Therefore, the consortium concluded that trains with speed up to 350km per hour can compete with air transport.
However, the report recommended that the train should be operated with speed up to 200km per hour in the first phase of the project, which could be increased to 350km per hour after full completion.
Vietnam has been talking about the North-South high-speed railway for years now, but it has been delayed due to high costs. The Vietnamese railway industry also saw declining popularity.
In 2016, the train passenger volume dropped by 17% compared to 2015 to 9.8 million, while during the first six months of 2017, it had 5 million passengers, down 2.9% compared to the corresponding period last year, according to Vietnam Railway Corporation's statistics.
