The Ministry of Transport is seeking input from other ministries and local authorities in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring Dong Nai Province on the prefeasibility report for the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh railway project, a nearly-42-kilometer line estimated to cost over US$3.4 billion.

The railway project aims to connect the under-construction Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province with Ho Chi Minh City and develop urban areas along the route.

The section in Ho Chi Minh City will stretch 11.75 kilometers and that in Dong Nai will span 30.08 kilometers.

The project will begin at the Thu Thiem Station in Thu Duc City – a district-level administrative unit of Ho Chi Minh City – and end at Long Thanh International Airport.

The elevated sections will span 30.67 kilometers, accounting for 66.34 percent of the total route.

Tunnel sections will cover 15.13 kilometers, making up 32.73 percent, while ground-level sections will stretch for 430 meters, or 0.93 percent.

There will be 20 stations along the route, including 16 elevated stations and four underground stations.

The project will also include Cam Duong Depot, which will span 21.4 hectares in Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province and the 1.2-hectare Thu Thiem Depot at the namesake station.

The consulting unit – a consortium of Transport Engineering Design Inc. and South Transport Engineering Design Joint Stock Incorporated – proposed developing the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh railway under the mass rapid transport model with a designed speed of 90 kilometers per hour in tunnels and 120 kilometers per hour on the rest of the route.

Between 2035 and 2045, nine trains, each with four carriages, will be in operation. By 2055, the number of trains will increase to 31, with each train featuring six carriages.

The route will have the capacity to carry 30,000 to 40,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Of the total investment, some VND5.5 trillion ($221.4 million) will be used for site clearance and compensation. 

Some 140.11 hectares of land from 302 households will be cleared to make room for the project.

The site clearance work will be conducted from the second quarter of 2026, while the railway will be developed between the last quarter of 2026 and 2029.

The equipment for the project is scheduled for purchase between 2028 and 2029, with the aim of launching operations in 2030.

The consulting unit has proposed a budget of over VND58.6 trillion ($2.39 billion) from the state budget, along with VND26.1 trillion ($1.06 billion) in ODA loans to fund the project.

The project, once completed, will connect with the second metro line in Ho Chi Minh City at Thu Thiem Station, the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Railway at SI8 Station, and the North-South high-speed railway at Thu Thiem and Long Thanh Stations.

The Thu Thiem - Long Thanh railway will run parallel in the right of the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thành - Dau Giay Expressway and the North - South high-speed railway project.

After cutting through Beltway No. 3 in Ho Chi Minh City, the rail route will go parallel in the left of the beltway, across the Dong Nai River, continue to run parallel with Beltway No. 3, turn left and run in the median strip of provincial road 25B in Dong Nai Province.

Upon reaching Long An Commune in Long Thanh District, the route will transition underground, continuing along the railway corridor leading to Long Thanh International Airport.

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