The Ministry of Transport confirmed that it has accepted the opinions of the State Appraisal Council and will consider adjusting the route and locations of some stations on the North-South high-speed railway.

In the pre-feasibility study report of the North-South high-speed railway project, the Ministry of Transport said that the route is about 1,541km long, starting at Ngoc Hoi station ( Hanoi ) and ending at Thu Thiem station (HCMC).

The project route is determined according to the principle of "shortest possible" and in accordance with the planning, suitable for terrain conditions, meeting technical requirements, limiting passage through relic areas and avoiding densely populated areas, ensuring East-West corridor connectivity.

Similarly, for the station project, the Ministry of Transport determined it based on four principles: being suitable for planning, located in the economic center, ensuring convenient connection with the public transport system, and ensuring effective exploitation of infrastructure.

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The Ministry of Transport agreed to move the cargo terminal from Ngoc Hoi to Thuong Tin. Photo: Hoang Ha

Accordingly, the railway line will pass through 20 provinces with 23 passenger stations and 5 freight stations, each station has a planned development space of 250 - 300 hectares, except for Thu Thiem station with an expected scale of about 17 hectares.

However, the State Appraisal Council believes that it is necessary to consider the route direction and station locations on the route in the next step to have the "straightest possible direction".

According to the consulting unit that reviewed the pre-feasibility study report of the North-South high-speed railway project (hired by the State Appraisal Council), the number of curves on the route is still very large, accounting for over 35% of the length of the route, which is too large. This affects the speed of passenger trains and the safety of container trains.

In addition, the location of the station entering a densely populated area will face many difficulties in site clearance, developing TOD station urban areas to open up new economic development space, restructure urban areas, distribute population, and shift economic structure.

In the latest document on the explanation of the acceptance of the State Appraisal Council's opinions on the project's pre-feasibility study report, the Ministry of Transport said it had directed design consultants to review and ensure that cargo stations connect major seaports, coastal economic zones, and the existing railway system to serve international intermodal transport, facilitating logistics work for national defense and security.

With the location of the cargo station in the Hanoi area, the Ministry of Transport agreed to move it from Ngoc Hoi area to Thuong Tin.

Regarding passenger stations, the Ministry of Transport believes that when the National Assembly approves the investment policy, in the step of preparing the feasibility study report, the Ministry of Transport will direct the investor, consultant, review and study to propose the specific location and scale of suitable stations to ensure meeting the requirements of the central station, station square and multimodal connection works.

At the same time, the Ministry will continue to coordinate with the provinces to review and adjust route directions and station locations, especially locations that are advantageous in connecting with major traffic hubs and economic zones.