Nostalgia for the Thap Cham - Da Lat cog railway

Throughout its more than 130-year history, the resort city of Da Lat experienced a golden age for about 15 years, from the beginning of World War II until the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

Trai Mat train station today. Photo: Y Van

In addition to its architectural heritage, the French left behind another landmark of the world's railway industry: the Thap Cham - Da Lat rack railway, one of only two remaining rack railways in the world.

But war and human destruction wiped out the railway line, leaving it only a memory today.

* Unique cogwheel railway

After establishing their rule over all of Vietnam and Indochina, the French immediately began constructing roads and railways to serve the exploitation of the colony, including the railway line from the southernmost part of Central Vietnam to the resort city of Da Lat.

Initially, there were plans to build a Nha Trang - Da Lat railway line, but the cost was too high. Therefore, the French decided to build the Thap Cham - Da Lat line, connecting it to the existing North-South railway to link Saigon - Da Lat and Nha Trang - Da Lat via Thap Cham station. The line is 84km long, starting from kilometer 0 at Thap Cham station, passing through the main stations: Tan My, Song Pha (Krongpha), Ca Bo (K'beu), Eo Gio (Bellevue), Dran, Tram Hanh (Arbre Broye'), Cau Dat, Da Tho, and ending at Da Lat station.

Because the lowest elevation of the railway line is at Thap Cham station, only 32m above sea level, but reaches 1,488m at the final station in Da Lat, and due to the limitations of locomotive manufacturing technology and tunneling through mountains at that time, a rack railway system had to be installed on steep sections and inside the locomotives (total length approximately 16km) to ensure the safety of trains when going up and down slopes.

The Thap Cham - Da Lat railway line, built over 30 years (1902-1932) at a cost of 200 million Francs, consists of two sections: the section from Thap Cham to Krongpha (Song Pha) and the section from Krongpha to Da Lat.

The Thap Cham - Krongpha section, from Thap Cham station to the foot of Ngoan Muc pass, is located in Ninh Thuan province and is 41km long, starting from Thap Cham station (km0). Construction on this section was divided into two parts: Thap Cham - Xom Gon (1903-1916), passing through Luong Nhon, Dong Me, Tan My, Quang Son, and Xom Gon stations; and the Xom Gon - Krongpha section (1916-1917).

The Krongpha - Da Lat section (1922-1932), located in Lam Dong province, is 43km long and was put into operation in 1932. Construction of this section was also divided into two phases: Krongpha - Eo Gió (1922-1928) and Eo Gió - Da Lat (1928-1932). The line started from Krongpha station, passing through Eo Gió, Dran, Tram Hanh, Cau Dat, Tram Bo (Da Tho), Trai Mat stations, and finally ending at Da Lat station.

Due to its mountainous terrain and the need to cross two high mountain passes, Ngoan Muc and Dran, the Krongpha - Da Lat section has three sections requiring cogwheel railway tracks (one section from Krongpha to Eo Gio, one section from Dran to Tram Hanh, and one section from Da Tho to Trai Mat) and five tunnels through the mountains (two tunnels in the Krongpha - Eo Gio section, one tunnel in the Tram Hanh - Cau Dat section, and two tunnels in the Cau Dat - Da Tho section).

Every day, there were two pairs of trains from Nha Trang and Saigon to Da Lat via the Cham Towers and vice versa. Each train consisted of a locomotive and four carriages, including three passenger carriages and one freight carriage. The passenger carriages were further divided into classes 1, 2, and 3, with class 1 carriages usually reserved for French officials and Western ladies on vacation. After the completion of the line, the number of passengers passing through Da Lat station increased sharply: 13,279 in 1933, 50,850 in 1936, and 79,415 in 1937...

The rack railway was a vital transportation artery connecting the resort city of Da Lat with the South Central coastal region. It served as a major freight and passenger transport route to other parts of Vietnam via the Indochina railway system and played a crucial role in forming the Saigon-Nha Trang-Da Lat tourism triangle. It also brought many residents from the North and Central regions to the Lam Vien plateau to settle, forming residential areas along the route and contributing to the prosperity of Da Lat for a time.

Not only is it a unique rack railway (the only one installed in Vietnam), but the planning and construction of the station system, auxiliary facilities for train operation, and villas along the route deserve to be recognized as a heritage site if they are preserved.

It is estimated that along this railway line, there were more than 100 French-style villas built, concentrated around major stations such as Thap Cham, Tram Hanh, Cau Dat, and especially Da Lat station, which was surrounded by a railway villa complex with 14 villas featuring distinctive stone architecture that still exist today. At some major stations such as Tram Hanh, Cau Dat, Da Tho, and Trai Mat, traces of French villas are still scattered around the station, but most have deteriorated and become dilapidated.

In particular, the Da Lat railway station, built between 1932 and 1938, was designed based on the model of the Deauville station in the Calvados region of northern France, with a replica of the Lang Biang mountain peak. It is considered the most beautiful railway station in Indochina and has been classified as a national historical and scenic site.

A history to forget

During the war against the US, besides transporting goods and passengers, this railway line was also used to transport supplies and equipment for the war effort, making it a frequent target of attacks. As a result, train services were disrupted. At the same time, due to the relatively well-developed road network, the volume of goods and passengers transported via this railway line decreased.

In August 2023, the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee issued a plan for the development of railway transport until 2030, with a vision to 2045, focusing on restoring, renovating, and effectively operating the Da Lat - Thap Cham rack railway line to serve tourism. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested Lam Dong province to urgently coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to finalize the pre-feasibility study report for the project to restore and upgrade the Thap Cham - Da Lat railway line.

After the complete liberation of South Vietnam, the restoration of the railway line was undertaken, and by 1976, passengers could travel from Da Lat to Krongpha station. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Transport later decided to remove the sleepers to repair the North-South railway line between Binh Dinh and Quang Nam, so the railway line gradually fell into disrepair.

In particular, since the Ministry of Transport decided to sell the scrap of steam locomotives and rack railway accessories to Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke Company (Switzerland) in the late 1980s, the line was officially decommissioned. According to Swiss experts, eight of these locomotives are still operational, such as the three locomotives at Da Lat station with serial numbers VHX 31-201, VHX 40-304, and VHX 40-308, which were imported to Vietnam in 1947. The 7km section between Da Lat and Trai Mat was restored by the railway industry in 1991 for tourism purposes and continues to operate to this day.

Thanks to the successful repatriation campaign of the rack railway and steam locomotives in 1990, the Swiss railway industry had the opportunity to fully restore the Furka Pass rack railway (built in 1925), which had been stalled since 1982 and was even considered for demolition. Swiss experts consider the repatriation of steam locomotives from Vietnam a miracle, allowing tourists to once again admire the Furka Pass route, considered one of the most treacherous and beautiful railways in Switzerland and the world, with its famous mountain-climbing rack railway system.

Medical Literature

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202402/hoai-niem-ve-tuyen-duong-sat-rang-cua-thap-cham-da-lat-9924608/