High speed double rail lines to link HCMC and Nha Trang
11:47 04/03/2009

      A company in the southern metro is in the process of designing two rail lines to speed up train travel between Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang resort city in Khanh Hoa province.

Under a draft master plan in Vietnam to revolutionize rail travel, the 400km double railway track will be used to operating trains at high speed, dramatically cutting travel times, according to a report Wednesday drafted by the Southern Transport Consultation and Design Company,

Although the date for construction has yet to be revealed, one line would run at a lightning fast 200kph, cutting travel time from over eight hours down to two from HCMC to Nha Trang.

Investment for the track is estimated to reach US$6.4 billion.

The other track to run parallel would carry trains at even faster speeds of up to 350kph, cutting travel time to one hour and 25 minutes, with a price tag of $6.9 billion.

Both the tracks are 1.435m in width, while that of the present national track is 1.0m, including that which presently links Nha Trang to the Thu Thiem station in District 2 in HCMC.

Other sections of express rail tracks to be built under the master plan include the 280km Hanoi – Vinh route, 100km HCMC-Vung Tau route, 100km Hanoi-Hai Phong.

The new 1.435m railway will be developed alongside the existing Trans-Nation railway.

Source: Tuoi Tre – Translated by Minh Phat

Source : thanhniennews.com