On October 21, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee sent a document to Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on the railway plan connecting Tan Son Nhat airport and Long Thanh airport.
Ho Chi Minh City proposes to use Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong section and Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem section) combined with Thu Thiem - Long Thanh route to create an inter- airport passenger transport corridor.
This plan is assessed by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to have many favorable conditions for implementation as soon as possible.
Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong section) has basically completed site clearance, expected to start construction at the end of 2025 and be completed before 2032.
The Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem section is expected to go underground for about 6 km along Ham Nghi and Mai Chi Tho Boulevards, so it is convenient in terms of land and can be implemented quickly.
The Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway project has been organized by the Ministry of Construction to prepare a Pre-Feasibility Study Report (complete by the end of the report).
Preliminary research results determined that this is an urban railway type (formerly national railway) about 42 km long, designed as a double track, 1,435 mm wide, designed speed of 120 km/h, including 20 stations (16 elevated stations, 4 underground stations).
The route runs along the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway corridor and Ring Road 3, mainly through vacant land, so it is very convenient for site clearance.
Through Metro Line 2 and Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Line, passengers from Tan Son Nhat Airport can travel to Ba Queo Station to take Metro Line 2 (Tham Luong - Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem), then continue along the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway line to Long Thanh Airport.
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City said it will continue to invest in Metro Line 6 directly connecting 3 stations of Tan Son Nhat airport (T1, T2, T3).
This metro line will also connect with Metro Line 2 at Ba Queo Station and Thu Thiem - Long Thanh Line at Phu Huu Station, creating a transportation corridor between the two airports, contributing to reducing the load on routes in the central area of Ho Chi Minh City.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed that the Prime Minister agree on the policy of prioritizing accelerating the progress of Metro Line 2 and Thu Thiem - Long Thanh.
Notably, the above projects have had investors propose to participate. Ho Chi Minh City affirmed that it will proactively study investment options in the form of public-private partnership (PPP), and work with capable investors and contractors to ensure the project is implemented quickly and effectively.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, based on the scenario of Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV), when Long Thanh airport comes into operation in 2026.
According to the latest proposal of ACV, both Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh airports will operate international routes. After 2030, all international flights will move to Long Thanh.
If Tan Son Nhat is in charge of 100% of domestic flights (about 29.5 million visitors/year) and Long Thanh is in charge of 100% of international flights (more than 19 million visitors/year), the number of passengers needing to transit between the two airports will be about 4,100 people/day.
