North-South Railway, Vietnam

The Vietnam North-South Railway, also known as the Reunification Express, is a railway that runs from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh City. The total length of this railway is 1,726 km (1,079 miles), with a gauge of 1 m (39"). The railway passes following provinces: Ha Noi, Ha Tay, Ha Nam, Nam Đinh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Binh Dương, Ho Chi Minh City. The railway serpents the coastline of Vietnam, through several beautiful landscapes of Vietnam such as: Hai Van Pass, Lanco Peninsular, Van Phong Bay...

This railway holds the world's record for being the railway on which the speed of the trains is slowestFact|date=June 2008. The highest speed that the trains of Vietnam Railway Corporation have reached on this line so far is 30 hours from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi or "vice versa". The railway is crossed by many roads in several crownded residences. Many accidents between trains and vehicles have happenedFact|date=June 2008. This railway is under the management and owed by Vietnam Raiway Corporation.

History

This railway was constructed during by the French colonist s as part of railway network in French Indochina. On 2 October 1936, the Hanoi-Saigon Railway with the length of 1,726 km, metre gauge (1 m) was officially inaugurated by the French colonists.In 1954, following the signature of Geneva Accords, Vietnam is temporarily divided into two parts: the communist North and anti-communist South. This railway was bisected accordingly at Hien Luong Bridge. During Vietnam War, this railway was a target of bombardments and explosion by North Vietnam and South Vietnam.After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, Vietnam was united and so was the railway. On 31 December 1976, the severely war-torn railway was fully restored and put into operation.

Major Stations

The followings are major railway stations on North-South Raiway from Hanoi to Saigon:
*Hanoi Railway Station (Ha Noi)
*Phu Ly Railway Station
*Nam Dinh Railway Station
*Thanh Hoa Railway Station
*Haiphong Railway Station
*Vinh Railway Station(Vinh city in Nghe An Province)
*Dong Hoi Railway Station (Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh Province
*Dong Ha Railway Station {Dong Ha town in Quang Tri Province
*Hue Railway Station (Huế city in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province
*Da Nang Railway Station (Da Nang)
*Tam Ky Railway Station
*Quang Ngai Railway Station
*Dien Tri Railway Station
*Tuy Hoa Railway Station
*Nha Trang Railway Station (Nha Trang)
*Muong Man Railway Station (Phan Thiet)
*Saigon Railway Station (Ho Chi Minh City)

Improvement Plan

On 1 January 2002, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai approved a "Master Plan for Vietnam's railway towards 2020" to improve this railway which an important part of capital loaned by Japanese ODA. The total estimated investment capital is expected US$ 32,000 million. Japanese companies will be given priority in being the contractors for this project. Japan has sent a research commission to Vietnam to carry our topographical and geographical survey. Japanese shinkansen express bullet train has been suggested to be used for this new railway. Once competition, the North-South Railway will have 2 parallel standard gauge tracks, not directly crossed by the roads and will allow trains to run at a speed of 300 km per hour. The pre-feasibility study is underway. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered the Minister of Transportation of Vietnam to shorten the completion duration of this railway construction from 15 years to 9 years.

External links

* [http://www.vnn.vn/bandocviet/2006/07/587596/ Vietnam will have express train on www.vnn.vn (Vietnamese only)]