The world is already at Industry 4, but Vietnam's railways are still at Industry 1.

During the National Assembly discussion on the amended Railway Law on the morning of November 18th, delegate Nguyen Phi Thuong, General Director of the Hanoi Transport Corporation, stated that Vietnam's railway system is lagging behind and underdeveloped.

The National Assembly discusses the draft amendment to the Railway Law.

Despite over 130 years of development, Vietnam's railway system remains at technology level 1, with a single-track gauge of 1 meter, while the world is already at technology level 4 and preparing to move to technology level 5.

Furthermore, Vietnam's railway system is not connected to major transportation hubs. The actual market share of rail transport is only around 1%, while road transport accounts for 65%, leading to road transport being "monopolized" and causing overload and congestion.

Regarding the causes, Representative Thuong suggested that factors such as subsidies, confusion in development policies, and a lack of investment attention were contributing factors. The direction of railway development was also unclear, leading to stagnant investment.

Representative Nguyen Phi Thuong argued that the 2005 Railway Law should be amended to reflect the importance of railways, given that Vietnam's logistics costs are only 20% of GDP, while the global average is over 50%.

"Our country stretches from North to South, so developing the railway system is essential, as it is also developing the country. We need to pay attention to and allocate capital from the 80,000 billion VND package, as well as land for railway development. Infrastructure business must be separated from transportation business," Mr. Thuong emphasized.

Delegates Nguyen Phuong Tuan (Ninh Binh), Ton Ngoc Hanh (Binh Phuoc), Nguyen Thi Hong Ha (Ninh Thuan), etc., all believe that it is time to amend the 2005 railway law.

However, delegates believe that this revised draft law is still too rudimentary and has poor applicability.

Delegate Le Minh Chuan (Quang Ninh) - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group, also questioned, "There are many issues to discuss regarding Vietnam's railways."

According to Representative Chuẩn, regulations on dedicated railways are necessary. The potential of railways and waterways is underutilized, placing the entire burden on road transport. Furthermore, dedicated railways are highly effective in freight transportation.

Sharing the same view as Representative Chuẩn, Representative Nguyễn Văn Thể (Sóc Trăng) also said: “Dedicated railways are superior. If these railways are established to transport goods from ports to industrial zones, it would be extremely good, efficient, shorten travel time, and reduce road traffic congestion. We shouldn't not regulate this.”

According to TTO