Responding to voters' petitions, on October 22, the Ministry of Transport said that according to the National Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 and the Railway Network Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, the high-speed railway line on the North-South axis is determined to have a double-track scale, 1,435mm gauge, with a length of about 1,545km, with an investment roadmap before 2030.
Currently, the Ministry of Transport has completed the project's Pre-Feasibility Study Report and sent it to the State Appraisal Council for appraisal according to regulations as a basis for submitting to the National Assembly for consideration and approval of the investment policy at the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly.
In particular, the Ministry of Transport has proposed many mechanisms and policies to soon invest in the project as recommended by voters.
According to the pre-feasibility study, the North-South high-speed railway project is expected to start construction at the end of 2027 and strive to complete the entire route by 2035.
The North-South high-speed railway is expected to start from Ngoc Hoi station (Hanoi), pass through 20 provinces and cities and end at Thu Thiem station (HCMC), directly connecting two special-class urban areas with a population of up to about 10 million people, 17 class 1 urban areas with a population of 500,000 people or more, not to mention smaller urban areas.
Along the entire route, there will be 23 passenger stations with an average distance of 50 - 70 km, 5 freight stations connected to freight hubs, serving well national defense logistics when needed.
The total investment of the project is about more than 67 billion USD, expected to use state budget capital allocated in the medium-term public investment plan. The capital allocation period is about 12 years, each year an average of about 5.6 billion USD.
