Director of Vietnam Railways talks about the cause of the Chi Thanh tunnel collapse

Explaining the cause of the tunnel landslide, the Director of the Railway Department said that the geology in the Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa areas is relatively complex, the structure is not hard rock but loose soil.

On the afternoon of May 23, speaking with Tien Phong reporter, Mr. Tran Thien Canh - Director of Vietnam Railways said that up to now, the work of troubleshooting and repairing Chi Thanh tunnel (in Tuy An district, Phu Yen province) is being urgently carried out by the forces.

24/7 on-duty force to fix tunnel collapse

The repair work is being carried out at both the southern and northern tunnel entrances with each shift involving approximately 10 workers. Up to now, no additional landslides have been recorded at the scene.

Explaining the cause of the tunnel landslide, the Director of the Railway Department said that the geology in the Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa areas is relatively complex, the structure is not hard rock but loose soil.

Recently, there has been continuous rain in the area, leading to landslides. In particular, the North-South railway line has been in operation for a long time and is showing signs of deterioration.

Leaders of the Ministry of Transport inspected the work to fix the landslide at Chi Thanh tunnel on May 23.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that the Chi Thanh railway tunnel and other tunnels in the Central region were built more than 100 years ago and have deteriorated. The cause of the landslide in the Chi Thanh railway tunnel was determined to be due to complex geology and loose structure.

There is also a road being exploited on top of the tunnel, which has more or less affected the tunnel structure. In recent days, the Chi Thanh railway tunnel area has had rain, so the entire physical properties of the soil have decreased, leading to landslides.

“Currently, there are 12 degraded tunnels that need urgent repair, of which the railway industry is constructing and repairing 9 tunnels. However, the characteristic of the railway is that it is a single track, being renovated and exploited at the same time, so each day it can only work about 2-2.5 hours. As for the Bai Gio tunnel (Khanh Hoa) and Chi Thanh tunnel (Phu Yen), landslides occurred while they were being renovated,” said Mr. Canh.

The leader of the Vietnam Railway Authority said that, realizing this problem, in the medium-term period of 2021-2025, the Ministry of Transport has allocated about 4,000 billion VND to renovate, repair and upgrade degraded tunnels. However, the number of degraded tunnels that need to be repaired is still quite large, with about 27 weak tunnels on the entire North-South railway line, with an estimated amount of about 2,500-3,000 billion VND needed. The Ministry is proposing that the competent authority arrange for this to be included in the period of 2026-2030.

“Today, the leaders of the Ministry of Transport were present at the scene to direct the repair work, and at the same time requested the Department and related units to be present at the scene 24/7 to focus on repairing as soon as possible. The forces are being mobilized to the maximum...”, Mr. Canh said.

When will the tunnel be opened?

On May 23, a working group from the Ministry of Transport (MOT) inspected the site and directed the repair of the landslide at the Chi Thanh railway tunnel.

Here, the authorities said that if the weather is favorable, the landslide in this railway tunnel will be fixed in the next 2-3 days. Currently, the repair work is still taking place very urgently.

About 100 workers are actively pumping concrete to reinforce landslides. No new landslides have occurred inside the tunnel.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Danh Huy (2nd left) inspects the repair work at Chi Thanh tunnel.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that the Chi Thanh railway tunnel and other tunnels in the Central region were built more than 100 years ago and have deteriorated. The cause of the landslide in the Chi Thanh railway tunnel was determined to be due to complex geology and loose structure.

There is also a road being exploited on top of the tunnel, which has more or less affected the tunnel structure. In recent days, the Chi Thanh railway tunnel area has had rain, so the entire physical properties of the soil have decreased, leading to landslides.

Workers are trying to fix the landslide in Chi Thanh railway tunnel.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Danh Huy requested the investor (Project Management Board 85) and the construction unit to closely coordinate with Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) to carry out repairs.

Construction workers must be maintained at the site 24/7 to quickly overcome landslides. During the construction process, attention must be paid to ensuring the safety of workers and vehicles.

Workers prepare machinery to drill and pump concrete to reinforce the Chi Thanh railway tunnel.

A representative of VNR said that the Chi Thanh tunnel collapse has disrupted train operations, forcing the railway industry to transfer passengers by road. As of May 23, VNR has implemented a plan to transfer passengers of 12 trains by car between La Hai and Tuy Hoa stations.

The number of passengers transported by 12 trains departing from Saigon and Hanoi stations on May 21 was 2,650 passengers, and on May 22 was 2,845 passengers. It is expected that on May 23, 12 trains with more than 3,000 passengers will also be transported.

Workers transport repair equipment into the Chi Thanh railway tunnel.

Due to the impact of the Chi Thanh tunnel collapse, VNR has canceled SE9/SE10 trains departing from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from May 23 to May 29. In addition, SE42 train departing from Nha Trang station from May 24 to May 29 and SE41 train departing from Da Nang station from May 25 to May 30 have also been canceled. SE51 train departing from Hue station on May 22 will only run to Dieu Tri station (Binh Dinh), not the section from Dieu Tri to Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province. Passengers who have purchased tickets for these trips can return or exchange their tickets free of charge at the station.

The railway industry mobilized passenger cars from Tuy Hoa station to La Hai station. Photo: MN

As Tien Phong reported, at around 10:30 a.m. on May 21, a large amount of rock and soil in the Chi Thanh railway tunnel suddenly collapsed while a construction ship was reinforcing the tunnel. The estimated volume of the landslide was about 30 cubic meters. After that, the tunnel continued to collapse with a volume of up to 50 cubic meters. The Chi Thanh tunnel landslide interrupted the North-South train running through this area.

Lu Hu-Yang Xing

Source: https://tienphong.vn/cuc-truong-duong-sat-viet-nam-noi-ve-nguyen-nhan-sat-ham-chi-thanh-post1639777.tpo