(Dan Tri) – The freight transport capacity has been taken into account by the Consultant when completing the North-South high-speed railway pre-feasibility report.
Two years ago, public opinion in the country was caught up in a debate about the functionality of the North-South high-speed railway project. The project consultant of the Ministry of Transport proposed that the railway line would only carry passengers at a design speed of 350km/h, while the review consultant of the Ministry of Planning and Investment argued for the view of carrying passengers and freight at a speed of 250km/h.
In that debate, the Review Consultant had a strong argument: If it only carried passengers, the North-South high-speed railway would not be able to transport goods for national defense and security along the North-South axis when the country was in an urgent situation.
Increase axle load to carry goods
After the Review Consultant made the above argument, Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW of the Politburo issued on February 28, 2023 also affirmed that the North-South high-speed railway must create an important driving force for socio-economic development, associated with ensuring national defense, security and integration.
In compliance with the Politburo 's conclusion and accepting the opinions of the Appraisal Consultant, the Project Consultant of the Ministry of Transport revised the pre-feasibility report, adjusting the axle load design of the North-South high-speed railway from 17 tons/axle (proposed in 2019) to 22.5 tons/axle.
The purpose of this adjustment is clear: High-speed rail must be able to carry goods when needed.
Railways are used by both Russia and Ukraine to transport weapons in the conflict between the two countries (Photo: New York Times).
Since then, the North-South high-speed railway has been designed with an axle load of 22.5 tons to transport heavy goods.
According to the Project Consultant, designing an axle load of 22.5 tons/axle will increase the total investment by 2-3% compared to the axle load option of 17 tons/axle. However, this is the most effective option, meeting the dual-use requirements for defense, security and cargo transportation when necessary. This load is also basically similar to the European standard system.
What does “carrying goods when needed” mean?
By changing the axle load to carry heavy weapons, the project consultant also confirmed that combining cargo transport on the 350km/h railway is completely feasible.
However, the Consultant proposes to renovate the existing North-South railway line to specialize in freight transport. When the demand for freight exceeds the capacity of the existing railway, the high-speed railway will transport both passengers and freight according to the plan of carrying passengers during the day and freight at night so as not to reduce the throughput capacity.
Project consultants determine that the existing railway line will be renovated to transport goods (Illustration: Ngoc Tan).
It is expected that after the North-South high-speed railway is put into operation, it will be able to transport about 21.5 million tons of goods per year. In parallel, 18.5 million tons of goods per year will be transported by the existing railway (after renovation).
Regarding the type of goods, high-speed railways will carry high-value goods that need to be transported quickly, packed in containers or placed in closed cars such as express parcels, e-commerce goods, import and export, etc.
Traditional goods such as bulk cargo, chemicals, liquid cargo, oversized and overweight cargo, etc. will be handled by the existing railway line.
“The operation of freight trains on the high-speed railway is feasible because it has been calculated on a scientific basis and verified by operating routes around the world,” the project consultant affirmed in the pre-feasibility report.
It is expected that there will be 5 freight stations on the route including Ngoc Hoi (Hanoi), Vung Ang (Ha Tinh), Chu Lai (Quang Nam), Van Phong (Khanh Hoa) and Trang Bom (Dong Nai). 25 freight trains will be invested (5 freight trains running North - South and 20 freight trains on 4 sections, equivalent to 30 locomotives, 1,250 carriages).
The pre-feasibility study report for the North-South high-speed railway project is being prepared by the Ministry of Transport. The consultant for the report is the TEDI – TRICC – TEDIS consortium.
According to this report, the project is designed as a double track, 1,435mm gauge, electrified, with a design speed of 350km/h, with priority given to passenger transport and the ability to transport goods and serve national defense when necessary. The total estimated investment is 67.34 billion USD.
The Ministry of Transport aims to submit the project investment policy to the National Assembly for approval at the October 2024 session; bid to select international consultants, conduct surveys, and prepare a pre-feasibility study report in 2025-2026.
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/duong-sat-toc-do-cao-bac-nam-cho-hang-khi-can-thiet-nhu-the-nao-20241008013730308.htm
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