Vietnam to build a high-speed train system
(VOV) - Vietnam plans to build a new high speed railway, with trains that would speed from Hanoi to HCM City in just a few hours.
At the moment, it takes more than one day to commute between the two cities and the route requires changes.
The Prime Minister has just approved the strategy for modernising the north-south railway to link with major seaports and industrial zones increasing speeds to 80-90km/h for passenger trains and 50-60km/h for freighters by 2020.
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| High-speed train in China |
In the 10 years following speeds will be further increased from 160km/h-200km/h and even to 350km/h in the years beyond that.
It'll be a while before you can take the train to most major cities but in the long term the plan might clear up Vietnam’s roads and skies, reducing both pollution and traffic congestion in one fell swoop.
With such a far-reaching plan experts suggest that with the increased speeds and savings it will just make more sense to take the train instead of flying or driving.
In the future they predict more than 30% of travel between Hanoi and HCM City will be by high speed rail.