HCMC – Mekong Delta high-speed rail link planned at $9B

The HCMC – Can Tho City railroad will run 174km through Binh Duong, Long An, Tien Giang, and Vinh Long Provinces, according to the study the Railway Project Management Board has submitted to the Ministry of Transport.

Passenger trains will run at maximum speeds of 190 kph and freight trains at 120 kph.

Double rails of 1,435-mm gauge, the standard for high-speed rail, will be laid at a cost of US$9 billion.

It will be built by a public-private partnership (PPP), with the government bearing the cost of land acquisition.

It currently takes around four hours to travel from HCMC to Can Tho.

The ministry targets completing investment procedures before 2025 for construction to start before 2030.

Experts have said the railroad will strengthen links between the economic hubs in the south and the delta while reducing congestion on highways.

It will run along the HCMC-Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway, currently the only link between HCMC and the delta.

HCMC’s logistics master plan for until 2025 envisages developing a modern rail network to transport goods and connect its major ports with the rest of the south.