That was the opinion of Delegate Dang Ngoc Huy ( Quang Ngai delegation) at the group discussion on the afternoon of June 16 on the Draft Law on Railways (amended) and the investment policy for the Project to invest in the construction of Ho Chi Minh City's Ring Road 4.
The station is currently understaffed.
Delegate Dang Ngoc Huy said that we need to design and build a railway station with full functions to serve the exploitation and transportation of passengers and goods. At the same time, we need to design to build commercial centers, services, and banks, not just a station with very few accompanying services as it is now.
“I travel abroad and take the high-speed train. At the stations, I see endless shopping centers, banks, restaurants, services, etc. We should study and design our railway stations to be like that,” Mr. Huy said.
Delegate Dang Ngoc Huy (Quang Ngai delegation).
In addition, delegate Huy also said that it is necessary to study and invest in an additional railway gauge parallel to the North-South railway to transport goods and construction equipment with a standard gauge of 1.435m and to minimize intersections between railways and roads to reduce traffic accidents.
"In foreign countries, their railways have almost no intersections with roads or residential roads," said delegate Huy.
Also contributing ideas at the group meeting, delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh ( Ca Mau delegation) said that we need to mobilize resources from the whole society to maximize the exploitation of funding sources.
According to Mr. Minh, in the law we stipulate that the State will build the railway infrastructure system, and also allow businesses to rent it to run trains. Therefore, it will be very similar to the aviation model.
“Our aviation industry has many operators, so competition is very good, and the State only manages the airports. Some airports are even privately operated, so they are highly efficient.
“In the past, a plane trip cost us a month’s salary, but now, because many airlines compete, ticket prices are quite reasonable, and people can travel easily. That is the strength of competition and the advantage of this Railway Law,” said delegate Minh.
Delegate Dinh Ngoc Minh (Ca Mau delegation).
Amending the law to ensure feasibility and effectiveness
Speaking at the discussion group on the afternoon of June 16, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh said that our railway has been around for more than 140 years and has been effective. Especially during the war years and the subsidy period when water and air transport were limited, the railway was the main system for transportation.
2-3 terms ago, we thought about investing in railways, especially the North-South axis, discussed a lot about doing it, but it hasn't been done yet.
Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh (Photo: National Assembly Media).
Mr. Minh said that we also developed some urban railway lines such as Cat Linh - Ha Dong, Nhon - Cat Linh - Hanoi Railway Station, Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien... From investment to other activities, almost all depend on foreign countries, so the construction time is not guaranteed, such as Cat Linh - Ha Dong is prolonged; Suoi Tien - Ben Thanh is prolonged.
“These lines are also basically over-capitalized, technological lines and the ability to supply for technological lines. If we want to build, replace or repair them, we all depend on other countries, such as Cat Linh - Ha Dong in China; Hanoi station and Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien depend on France and Japan,” Minister Minh frankly said.
According to the Minister, we have not yet mastered science and technology, and have not mastered railways, which is a great concern of the Ministry of Transport (formerly) and now the Ministry of Construction.
“Therefore, we boldly researched the railway system, including national railways such as the North-South route, Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong; local railways in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with more than a dozen railways; railways connecting localities,” said Mr. Minh.
The 2013 Railway Law has been implemented but has caused many problems, especially when implementing railway lines synchronously, many mechanisms need to be proposed. The amendment of the law aims to remove bottlenecks of the law to effectively implement from investment preparation, construction and project completion, ensuring that those who implement it are assured of the law.
“If the policy is restrictive, without specific criteria and conditions, it will be very difficult for investors to implement. On average, it takes about 5 years to prepare for investment before construction can begin. Therefore, it is necessary to cut down procedures as much as possible and include criteria and preferential conditions,” said Mr. Minh.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/national-congress-delegate-must-invest-in-the-road-road-like-a-commercial-center-ar949204.html
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