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1.8 billion USD to shorten Hanoi-HCMC railway

By 2020, it will have cost almost 1.8 billion USD to shorten the travelling time by train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, down from 28 hours to 25 hours 24 minutes, said a team of specialist advisors from Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
By 2020, it will have cost almost 1.8 billion USD to shorten thetravelling time by train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, down from 28hours to 25 hours 24 minutes, said a team of specialist advisors fromJapan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

At a meetingof the steering committee for the priority express railway network inHanoi on August 14, the Japanese experts proposed upgrading thecurrent North-South railway line to allow passenger trains to travel at90km per hour and freight trains at 60km per hour. This would permit thenumber of trains using the route to rise from 32 to 50 per day.

For sections of the line that present problem, they proposed buildingtwin lines and widening the radius of bends on the railway from 100m atpresent to 800m to allow trains to travel at a maximum speed of 120kmper hour.

However, to cut the travelling time from Hanoi toHCM City to 15 hours 36 minutes, it will cost around 14.5 billionUSD.

The experts added that the demand for travelling by trainwill triple by 2030, after they had researched the Hanoi-Vinh and HCMCity-Nha Trang express railways.

The two routes will beeconomically feasible with a repayment rate of 12 percent until 2030,but will need an initial investment of 21.4 billion USD.

Theyalso proposed building a 40km track from Ngoc Hoi to Phu Ly and a 30kmline from Thu Thiem to Long Thanh on a trial basis.-VNA
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