The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has just issued Document No. 13651/SGTVT-XD to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for comments on the supplementary documents of the Pre-Feasibility Study Report of the North-South high-speed railway project through the city.

Regarding the route of the Project, the traffic management unit of Ho Chi Minh City agreed to choose the route of the North-South high-speed railway parallel to the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway (on the right side in the direction from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Nai).

The advantage of this route is that currently the land for railway infrastructure of the Project is arranged in a planned corridor and is stably managed along the expressway corridor.

Along the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway, land has been planned to build the North - South high-speed railway - Photo: Le Vinh

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport also agreed to choose Thu Thiem station as the main station of the North-South high-speed railway line in Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, Thu Thiem station is also a transit station for passengers from the railway to other means of public transport.

To ensure the feasibility of the Project, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport proposes to further study the structure of the route and sections passing through the City and to fully update the scale, format, and technical details of large and important intersections that have been or are being built, or have been planned to reasonably arrange solutions for intersections between roads and railways to avoid problems and adjustments in the next phase.

Regarding the scale of Thu Thiem station, it is recommended that the Ministry of Transport promptly organize and complete the detailed 1/500 planning so that the City has a basis for planning management and implementing urban development projects around the station.

In addition, in the city, there is a Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho railway project for which the Ministry of Transport is preparing a feasibility study report, so there needs to be a comprehensive study to ensure consistency in standards and technical indicators between the two projects to estimate the planning land fund.

Regarding the total investment, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport said that the preliminary total investment of the Project was calculated according to typical drawings of China's high-speed railway.

Meanwhile, China's high-speed railway is designed with a vertical load of 0.8 x LM71 (under 20 tons/axle), only carrying passengers and no cargo, not LM71 load (22.5 - 25 tons axle) according to TCVN 13594:2022.

Therefore, the HCM City Department of Transport recommends reviewing the facilities to refer to in determining the preliminary total investment, limiting the total investment overrun due to subjective factors when approving investment projects and avoiding capital overruns during construction.

After synthesizing comments from departments and branches, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee will report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment to supplement the Pre-Feasibility Study Report of the North-South High-Speed ​​Railway Project.