The Railway Project Management Board recently submitted to the Ministry of Construction a proposal for investment in the first phase of the North-South railway capacity enhancement and upgrade project. The project involves expanding and constructing some new stations, along with improving infrastructure along the North-South railway line.
For station facilities, the project plans to add tracks at Hai Van Bac and Hai Van Nam stations, construct new Phu Loc station in Hue City and Xuan Lap station in Dong Nai, extend tracks at Hoa Vinh Tay and Thuy Thach stations, and replace high-speed turnouts on the main line.
The project also includes upgrading 14 railway sections with curves having a radius smaller than 600 meters, totaling approximately 17 km. It will raise the track bed to prevent flooding at 5 locations spanning 6.9 km and improve the structure of 10 sections over a total length of 93 km.
 |
Passenger train at Da Nang station. Photo: Nguyen Dong
The project's total estimated investment is VND 4,573 billion, sourced from the state budget for the 2026-2030 period. Construction is slated to begin in Q4/2026 and conclude in 2030.
The Railway Project Management Board estimates that the project could help increase the average speed of passenger trains to over 80 km/h and freight trains to 50 km/h, compared to pre-upgrade speeds. Concurrently, the project is expected to boost freight transport volume across the entire line by 1.3 to 1.5 times and passenger volume by 1.5 to 1.6 times. The enhanced railway capacity will help alleviate congestion on the North-South road transport corridor.
If approved, this would be the third project implemented to upgrade the North-South railway line within 10 years.
Previously, two railway upgrade and improvement projects during the 2016-2025 period significantly enhanced safety and throughput capacity. However, the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City railway still features many weak bridges and tunnels, steep gradients, small curve radii, and numerous flood-prone sections. These issues limit train speeds and pose potential traffic safety risks.
Anh Duy
