Vietnam to break ground on new high-speed rail line

Vietnam will begin construction of a major high-speed railway next month, a project expected to boost socioeconomic development and enhance transport connectivity with China.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Hanoi-Quang Ninh high-speed railway project is scheduled to take place on April 12, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Famous for the UNESCO World Heritage Site Halong Bay, Quang Ninh is a port city in Vietnam that shares a land and sea border with South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Spanning about 120 kilometers, the fully electrified, standard-gauge railway will feature double tracks and can reach a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It will become one of only two high-speed railway lines in the country, alongside the North-South line from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, scheduled for investment before 2030.

It will run through four cities and provinces, namely Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh. Travel time between the national capital Hanoi and Quang Ninh will be cut to as little as 30 minutes, compared to up to three hours by road.

Leading investment and construction is VinSpeed, a high-speed rail subsidiary of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup. It is slated for completion and operation by 2028.

The company has signed a framework deal with the German company Siemens for the supply of rolling stock and respective subsystems for the rail projects Hanoi to Quang Ninh and Ben Thanh to Can Gio.

In December last year, construction began on the first phase of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway, a single-track railway that connects with China's railway network.

To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, said on Thursday that infrastructure connectivity, especially railway links, between Vietnam and China must be identified as a strategic breakthrough in bilateral economic ties.

Chairing a meeting with representatives from relevant ministries, agencies, and localities at a railway station in Lang Son Province, near the Vietnam-China border, To Lam said enhanced rail ties are important for driving bilateral trade ties into a new stage that is more substantive, effective and sustainable.

He said railway cooperation between Vietnam and China is both an imperative and a major opportunity for the coming years, serving as a powerful lever for the Southeast Asian country to modernize infrastructure, cut logistics costs, expand global reach, and gradually build capacity in a new foundational industry.

Apart from economic benefits such as lower logistics costs and shorter transit times, To Lam said there are also long-term benefits, including the emergence of logistics hubs, integration into the broader Asia-Europe rail network, and elevating Vietnam's standing within Asian supply chains.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com