Hundred years of Vinh city's 'train'

North-South railway traffic hub

Recounted in Memoirs of Indochina,Paul Doumer(Governor General of Indochina from 1897 - 1902) dated March 22, 1897 on the program of activities of the new Governor General of Indochina said: When he took office, "the problem of building a railway system was not completely solved. There was nothing, or almost nothing, and no overall plan had been drawn up". The whole of Indochina only had a narrow gauge railway from Phu Lang Thuong to Lang Son with a 60cm gauge, serving the supply of the French army. The route from Saigon to My Tho was only roughly built with an incomplete bridge and culvert system. According to the Governor General of Indochina: "The task to be completed in the railway field is very heavy but worth paying attention to because of its feasibility, because we have in hand everything necessary for the implementation".

King Bao Dai signed the minutes of inauguration of the Indochina railway. Photo: State Records and Archives Department

Taking office as Governor-General of Indochina in February 1897 and after less than a year in office, Paul Doumer presented to the French National Assembly a large-scale railway construction program in Indochina, which was approved in a law on December 25, 1898. Due to limited budget, this law allowed the colonial government to issue national bonds, borrowing 200 million francs at an interest rate of 3.5%, to be repaid in 75 years. Budget constraints forced Governor-General Paul Doumer to proceed with the construction of three separate railway sections: Hanoi - Vinh, Da Nang - Quang Tri, Saigon - Nha Trang.

By the end of 1910, the 200 million francs in national bonds had been used up, and the colonial government was allowed to issue 90 million francs in national bonds. Part of that money was used to build the Vinh - Dong Ha railway, which began in 1913, was interrupted during World War I, and was resumed in 1921 and put into operation in 1927.

According to documents published by the State Records and Archives Department: The last section of the Hanoi - Saigon railway line, Da Nang - Nha Trang, 545km long, initially had two different opinions. Some opinions were to continue building the coastal railway line through Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen as designed. Some opposing opinions argued that this area has many storms and winds, and must compete with seagoing ships. Strategically, this section is within the range of warships, so it was proposed to build an inland route through Pakse (Laos), Crache (Cambodia) along the Mekong River valley and then to Saigon.

Vinh Railway Station during the French colonial period. Photo: Flickr manhhai

However, after his visit, Colonial Minister Paul Raynaud realized that this “spine” line had to be completed quickly. The law passed on February 22, 1931 allowed the Indochina government to bid for the construction of the coastal railway section of Da Nang - Nha Trang, which had been surveyed and designed. On October 1, 1936, trains departing from Hanoi and Saigon met at Hao Son station, south of Tuy Hoa, for the inauguration of the North - South railway line, nearly 40 years after construction began in 1898.

Unfinished railway idea connecting Vinh - Xieng Khouang

ParagraphHanoi - Vinh railwayrunning through the Northern Delta and Thanh Hoa to Vinh at a cost of 43 million francs (13,000 francs/km of railway), of which the Hanoi - Ninh Binh route was inaugurated on January 9, 1903, and the Ninh Binh - Song Ma route was inaugurated in December 1903. On March 17, 1905, the first steam train whistled to Vinh Station, marking the official completion of the 320km railway line from Hanoi to Vinh. In his Memoirs, Governor-General of Indochina Paul Doumer particularly emphasized the importance of the Hanoi - Vinh railway line. He believed that, from a financial perspective, the construction of railways in the Tonkin Delta and the North Central region running through populous and wealthy lands was reasonable, especially because of the revenues that their exploitation could immediately bring.

“The economic benefits of the routes that will run through and connect the beautiful provinces of Thanh Hoa and Vinh will certainly be no less. This large isolated area, without any roads connecting it to the outside world, will be invited to join the flow of traffic and exchange. The prosperity of the colony will thereby increase”, Paul Doumer wrote in his Memoirs, clearly expressing the purpose of exploiting the Thanh Hoa and Nghe An colonies through the railway line that was built.

Locomotive workshop in Vinh in the 1920s. Photo: Flickr manhhai

On the North-South railway, the French also built several small branch lines and with its strategic importance, the Vinh-South railway section.Ben Thuy5 km long is one of the branch lines built. Through research, we also learned that, in his intention, Governor General of Indochina Paul Doumer also chose Vinh as one of the important hubs to connect with Laos. He conducted surveys and research to establish 3 independent railway lines from Quy Nhon, Quang Tri and Vinh connecting to Laos. In particular, the French surveyed to consider building a railway line from Vinh to Xieng Khouang (Laos) through the plateau of the same name and extending it, one side to Luang Prabang, the other side to Vientiane or a nearby point on the upper Mekong River.

Looking back at history, we can see the strategic position of Vinh city in terms of economic, cultural and social development and ensuring national defense, security and foreign affairs. In particular, more than 100 years ago, Vinh city was positioned as an important traffic hub serving trade between the North and the South and also with Laos. And also from the formation of the Railway industry with Vinh Station, followed by Truong Thi Railway Factory, it brought about social changes in Vinh when workers from other places, especially from the Northern localities, came to work, such as the formation of the Bac Ky worker village. Thereby, contributing to the formation and development of the working class in Nghe An. In the revolutionary struggle, these railway workers were important nuclei, contributing with the people of Nghe An to the movement to fight against colonialism and feudalism.