Vietnam Railways Corporation proposed this plan, which received approval from the Ministry of Construction leadership after their site inspection on the morning of 9/3.
According to the corporation's report, at approximately 10:17 on 6/3, barge NB-8437, traveling downstream on the Dong Nai river towards Ho Chi Minh City, first struck the second span of Ghenh bridge. It then reversed and collided with the third span.
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The Ministry of Construction inspection team surveys the Ghenh bridge site on the morning of 9/3. *Phuoc Tuan* |
The two collisions deformed and warped several structural components, breaking numerous bolts. The beam system, including longitudinal, transverse, and wind bracing beams, shifted. Bridge bearings were displaced by approximately 25 mm, and the railway track alignment on the bridge shifted by approximately 320 mm.
Based on inspection results, Vietnam Railways Corporation proposed reinforcing the deformed beam members in bays 4, 5, and 6 of span 2. The plan involves installing 8 m long I-steel beams, connected with gusset plates and high-strength bolts, and directly welding them to the bay end nodes to increase load-bearing capacity.
With this temporary reinforcement, trains are expected to cross the bridge at a speed of 5 km/h before 10:00 on 12/3. Concurrently, the railway industry will manufacture and install new beams to replace the second span, with completion anticipated within 60 days. The estimated cost for this replacement is 45-50 billion dong.
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The entire second span of Ghenh bridge is expected to be replaced after two months. *Phuoc Tuan* |
The Ghenh bridge incident caused severe disruption to railway traffic in the area. Vietnam Railways estimated damages exceeding 40 billion dong, potentially rising to 140 billion dong by 20/3 if train operations are not restored.
To accommodate passengers, Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company continues to arrange shuttle buses between Bien Hoa station and Di An station. It has also temporarily suspended several local train routes, including: Saigon - Phan Thiet and Saigon - Nha Trang.
Phuoc Tuan
