What technology will the North-South high-speed railway use?

According to the representative of TEDI-TRICC-TEDISOUTH Consulting (the unit that prepared the feasibility report), the Ministry of Transport presented 3 types of high-speed trains in the world.

The first is the rail train with a stable speed of 350 km per hour, standard gauge of 1,435 mm, can operate on new routes or upgrade from old routes to run both passenger and freight trains. This type was built in 1964 in Japan, has been tested for safety and has lower investment costs than the other two technologies.

Second, the train running on a magnetic levitation with a maximum speed of 580 km per hour (Maglev train), has been researched since 1968 in the US. However, after a number of safety incidents, only 3 countries are currently operating it: Japan, South Korea and China. Japan has been testing this type for over 17 years and is investing in building a line from Tokyo to Nagoya, expected to be put into operation in 2027. The investment cost for one kilometer of Maglev railway is about 190-200 million USD, 5-6 times higher than that of railway running on rails.

Finally, the Hyperloop, which has a maximum speed of 1,200 km per hour, is being tested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States. The train running in a tube will minimize drag, so it can be faster than an airplane. However, countries are in the process of testing to evaluate safety and operational reliability.

Experts say that Vietnam should use train technology running at speeds of 350-400 km/h.

Based on the stable operation of rail trains, TEDI - TRICC - TEDIS consultants and a number of traffic experts have proposed a rail train model (using distributed dynamics and radio-controlled signal information technology for the North-South high-speed railway line) for the North-South high-speed railway line.

Professor Do Duc Tuan, University of Transport, said that although distributed power technology is more expensive to maintain, it is a trend that many countries have used.

“There are opinions that we need to develop Hyperloop trains to take a shortcut, but this method is very risky because not many countries have applied it. Therefore, we should use distributed propulsion technology…”, Mr. Tuan said.

According to Professor La Ngoc Khue - former Deputy Minister of Transport, the high-speed railway project will be a project with a lifespan of centuries, so it must ensure that the future operating speed is among the top in the world. Therefore, it is necessary to study and choose the future speed of 350 or 400 km/h.

“Although it is not necessary to achieve maximum speed immediately, speed should be considered as a target to set out infrastructure specifications,” said Mr. Khue.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said that up to now, the agencies under the Ministry of Transport together with the Consultant have studied and reported to the Ministry many times on the North-South Expressway Project. Deputy Minister in charge Nguyen Ngoc Dong has also actively directed the completion of the pre-feasibility study in 2018 to soon report to the Prime Minister for consensus before submitting to the National Assembly in 2019.

Therefore, it is extremely important to seek opinions from scientists, experts, and representatives of relevant agencies and units to select technologies and forms of transportation to propose for application in Vietnam at this time. “These are issues that we must research and evaluate to report to the Government and the National Assembly. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each technology, its durability, and which technology is suitable for Vietnam,” said Mr. The.

Mr. The said, "After the project is approved, it will take 20-30 years to complete the entire North-South route, so it should be carefully studied and have a profound theoretical basis to carefully select technology and reasonable train speed, ensuring modern and advanced factors according to the general trend of the world, as well as safety, efficiency and optimization criteria with geographical conditions, exploitation, price and must convince the people and the National Assembly."

Previously, the Prime Minister had a written response to the question of delegate Le Cong Nhuong, Binh Dinh delegation, about when the Ministry of Transport will propose to the Government and the National Assembly to build a North-South railway line with a speed of about 200 km/h.

Accordingly, to meet transportation needs and enhance connectivity between major cities on the North-South axis, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Transport, the Prime Minister approved adjustments to the Vietnam Railway Transport Development Strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2050.

It is expected that the Ministry of Transport will submit the investment policy to the Government for consideration and report to the National Assembly for approval in 2019.

The high-speed railway on the North-South axis will be implemented in many phases. By 2020, research will be conducted on the construction of a new high-speed railway, double-track 1,435 mm gauge, electrification on the North-South axis. In which, conditions will be prepared to gradually prioritize the construction of sections with high transport demand, such as the Hanoi - Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang sections.

From 2020 to 2030, deploy the construction of a new high-speed railway line (in the immediate future, operating train speeds from 160 km/h to under 200 km/h), double-track 1,435 mm gauge; electrification, the line infrastructure can meet the operation of high-speed trains at 350 km/h in the future.

Prioritize the construction of sections with high transport demand on the North-South axis according to the ability to mobilize capital. Vision to 2050, strive to complete the entire 1,435 mm gauge double-track high-speed railway on the North-South axis. After 2050, deploy the organization of high-speed exploitation at 350 km/h.