Da Nang prioritizes research on two urban railway lines

Da Nang City prioritizes building an urban railway connecting the airport with Hoi An. Graphics by the Department of Transport.

Priority 2 routes

Da Nang City identifies urban railway as the backbone of the smart transport network. The urban railway system is synchronously integrated with rapid buses, electric buses, bicycles connecting to seaports, airports, administrative centers, schools, hospitals...

According to the urban railway planning orientation, the city will connect important locations of the city such as free trade zones, financial centers, Lien Chieu seaport, airports, Hoi An, Tam Ky, Chu Lai... The two priority railway investment routes are the route connecting Da Nang - Hoi An - Tam Ky - Chu Lai international airport and the route connecting the high-speed railway station to the central urban railway station.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Construction Luong Thach Vy, the planning orientation of Da Nang city's urban railway is based on the latest planning, based on the space of the new Da Nang city after the merger. Accordingly, the city plans to plan 16 urban railway axes with a length of more than 204km, in the period from now to 2045.

In the urban railway system, the priority research route includes the first route connecting Da Nang International Airport - Hoi An - Tam Ky - Chu Lai. This route is divided into 2 phases.

Phase 1 connecting Da Nang International Airport to Hoi An includes LRT2 railway connecting Da Nang Airport - My Khe Beach, more than 7km long, and MRT2 connecting Vietnam - Korea University - current Da Nang Station, more than 17km long with investment plan from 2025 - 2030.

Phase 2 of the post-2030 investment plan connects Hoi An - Tam Ky - Chu Lai.

The second line, with priority for research, is the railway connecting the high-speed railway station to the central urban railway station. The goal of this railway line is to serve the connection between the national high-speed railway station area and the city center area. This line has a construction time according to the progress of the national high-speed railway project through Da Nang city.

According to Mr. Mario Valerio Dattola (international railway expert), in Da Nang, the strategic positioning of new transport systems needs to consider the central location of the airport and the physical boundary created by the Han River.

When considering options for connecting suburban areas to the city center via suburban trains or subways, urban transport planning needs to be comprehensive. Specifically, it includes many factors such as technical infrastructure, demand forecasts, financial feasibility, environmental impacts, and socio -economic benefits.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hien, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board, if the Metro has many lines but the distance is too short, it will not be operational. Da Nang needs to plan fewer lines but longer ones to be more effective. At the same time, the urban railway operation team must be recruited and trained at least 2-3 years before putting into use.

“We have to think about the operation right now. Because if the railway is finished but not friendly and not good, passengers will not travel…”, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hien said.

Passengers arrive at Da Nang Station. Photo: THANH LAN

Mobilizing 3 resources

According to the Department of Construction of Da Nang, there are expected to be three sources of investment in the construction of the city's urban railway system; including public investment capital from the state budget; ODA capital and preferential loans from foreign donors; capital from investors and investment capital under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.

Based on the expected investment scale and analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of investment capital sources, the City People's Committee proposes to prioritize the option of calling for investment from private capital sources. Investors will invest in all infrastructure and equipment for business operations and will be combined with urban development in the direction of TOD in areas adjacent to stations on the route.

Recently, the leaders of the City People's Committee had a meeting with Deo Ca Group about the proposal of this enterprise to invest in the Da Nang - Hoi An urban railway project. The City also hopes that THACO will participate in the urban railway project connecting Da Nang airport to Chu Lai airport, phase 1 of the project will be implemented from Da Nang airport to Hoi An.

After merging with Quang Nam province, Da Nang city's urban development space has expanded but it is also facing increasing pressure on urban traffic. Da Nang needs to have an important breakthrough in developing smart public transport infrastructure.

With a long-term vision, Da Nang identifies urban railway as the backbone of the smart transport network connecting the inner city with neighboring urban areas, expanding links with Hue city, Quang Ngai province and the Central Highlands provinces, forming a chain of economic and regional urban areas.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/da-nang-uu-tien-nghien-cuu-2-tuyen-duong-sat-do-thi-3308478.html