Proposal for Saigon station to be the central passenger station of Ho Chi Minh City

In the initial report on planning railway routes and stations in the Ho Chi Minh City hub area, the consulting consortium of Southern Transport Design Consulting Joint Stock Company (TEDI South) and the Transport Development Investment Consulting Center (CCTDI) proposed the existing Saigon station (formerly Hoa Hung station) as the city's central passenger station.

At that time, the organization ran passenger trains in the direction of Binh Trieu station - Saigon station - Tan Kien station in a "pendulum" style through Saigon central station.

Saigon Station is the central station for receiving/dropping off passengers of North-South passenger trains (when the high-speed railway connects to the hub area via the Trang Bom - Hoa Hung railway or the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway), intermodal passenger trains, long-distance passenger trains or regional passenger trains, and intra-suburban passenger trains to satellite cities. The station connects and transfers with urban railway line No. 2.

According to the consultant's proposal, Saigon station is a traffic hub, a transit point, collecting and dispersing passengers to/from the railway to other means of public transport. The area around the station square is oriented to plan and arrange bus stops, taxis, and private vehicle parking lots to create convenience for passengers and people during their travel.

Map of the organization of the pendulum train running through Saigon central station in Ho Chi Minh City.

Along with the central passenger station, the consultant proposed passenger hub stations in the Ho Chi Minh City area. Accordingly, Binh Trieu station is the northern passenger hub station of the city; Tan Kien station is the southern passenger hub station of the city. These two stations have locomotive and carriage repair and maintenance facilities located at both ends outside the central area and organize train operations in a “pendulum” style through the central passenger station, which is Saigon station.

Thu Thiem Station does not organize for passengers the North-South high-speed railway, it is only the first/last station of the Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway and urban railway; it is a hub for transferring passengers from the railway to other means of public transport.

Regarding the organization of passenger transport, the consultant proposed that passenger trains serving directly to the city's residents will be planned to go underground or go high into the city center for convenient access for residents. To develop the Ho Chi Minh City urban area according to the model of a core city - satellite city, the plan will be to organize intra-suburban passenger trains running radially to transport passengers according to the "pendulum" model between the core city and satellite city.

Explaining these proposals, the consultant said that with the plan to arrange a central station, hub and organize passenger transport like this, traffic congestion at the city's gateways as well as within the city will be resolved.

The experience of Berlin (Germany) shows that the design of radial railway lines and ring railway lines is a very effective solution to solve the problem of urban traffic. Thanks to these railway lines, in Berlin, passengers can go directly from the center to the suburbs without having to change trains and thus there will be no phenomenon of accumulation and congestion of a large number of passengers at the transfer stations between the metro and the national railway like some cities in European countries.

Berlin Central Station (Berlin Hauptbahnhof - Berlin hbf) is the intersection of radial railway lines in the following directions: North-south are high-speed railway lines and regional railways (Region railway); east-west are regional railway lines and extended urban railway lines (S-Bahn) and urban lines (U-Bahn).

Similarly, the central high-speed railway station of the Spanish capital Madrid (Atocha station) is typical of a central station right in the city center. Atocha station is a dead-end station, but has loop lines to organize trains going northwest, northeast, east and south, near the station area there is a depot area for maintenance and repair of trains (Ateinsa). The station is also a combination of public transport, combined with commercial areas, services, parking lots, and is a highlight of the capital Madrid.