Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) is working with partners to launch a luxury train across the country with five-star entertainment and cuisine services to bolster railway tourism, Chairman of VNR's Board of Members Dang Sy Manh told VietnamPlus.
“We are rushing off our feet to roll out the initiative, turning train stations into living museums and centres of heritage, culture and cuisine”, he said.
The five-star hotel atop the railway will boast luxurious bedrooms and modern amenities, and even offer a venue for weddings, he said. Onboard wifi will be piloted soon towards forming the sector’s ecosystem that runs the gamut of entertainment, information and technology.
Last year, the British travel guide Lonely Planet named the Reunification Express, or Vietnam’s north-south railway, one of the most incredible rail trips in the world. The journey allows passengers to sit and enjoy romantic scenery and rural landscapes along coastal towns in the central region, including the former imperial capital of Hue, the Da Nang Port which was initially built in the French colonial period, and the ancient town of Hoi An.
The VNR is joining hands with travel firms to launch new tourism offerings to capitalise on this advantage, he said, elaborating diesel-powered trains may be outdated but they are perfect with people who want a laidback journey as part of their travel.
According to Manh, over the past time, the railway sector has transformed their business and capitalised on its potential to perform better, with high-quality trains such as SE19/20, Hue-Da Nang heritage train, Long Bien and Hai Duong Railway Stations’ Hoa Xa Café, and cargo rail service to China put into operation.
He went on to say that the outmoded one-metre rail track as well as undeveloped logistics system have made the sector less attractive to customers, which put the sector between a rock and a hard place.
The VNR proposed competent authorities to handle congestion at stations and make them better connected with industries and seaports, he added.
Regarding the North-South express railway, Manh said that it is a life-changing factor for the industry, stressing countries have paid due regard to construction of the high-speed railway as it brings efficacy in culture, society and economy.
However, it is necessary to maintain and upgrade the current routes so as to promote the sector’s cargo transportation role.
The high-speed railway project is expected to create up to 332,300 jobs and a further 14,000 positions once trains are running.
The Government has assigned the Ministry of Transport to proactively coordinate with ministries and agencies to train staff to work in construction and operation of the high-speed railway.
According to the Institute of Transport Strategy and Development (Ministry of Transport), human resources are one of the key factors determining the success of the investment, construction and operation of the project.
This human resource also ensures the ability to receive the technology transfer to master and maintain operations to increase the localisation rate and encourage industrial development.
Countries, that do their own research and development of high-speed railway systems such as Japan, France, Germany and Italy as well as those that receive technology transfer and master the technology such as Korea, China and Spain, have to build national programmes on human resources development up to seven years before investment and construction, according to the institute's research.
The North-South high-speed railway will begin construction in 2027 and be put into operation phase 1 in 2032 and phase 2 in 2040./.
