The Ministry of Transport has formed a council to evaluate the pre-feasibility study for the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh railway project in southern Vietnam, which is designed for a speed of 120kph and requires an estimated investment of over US$3.4 billion.

The 15-member appraisal council, led by Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy, includes senior officials from the Ministry of Transport and the state-owned Vietnam Railways Corporation.

The council is tasked with reviewing the pre-feasibility report before submission to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The proposed railway will stretch from Thu Thiem Station on metro line No. 1 in Thu Duc City – an administrative district-level unit of Ho Chi Minh City, to Long Thanh International Airport in neighboring Dong Nai Province.

This new line will be an electrified double-track, standard-gauge railway, with a design speed of 120kph on open tracks and 90kph in tunnels. 

Operational speeds will be capped at 110kph on open tracks and 80kph in tunnels, with a capacity of 30,000-40,000 passengers per hour per direction.

The main route spans 41.83km, with an additional 4.4km leading to a depot. 

The route includes 30.67km of elevated tracks, 15.13km of tunnels, and 0.43km at ground level. 

The railway will feature 20 stations, with 16 elevated and four underground, in addition to a depot in Dong Nai’s Long Thanh District and a maintenance facility in Thu Thiem.

Apart from connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the Long Thanh Airport, the railway will link with the southern metropolis’s metro line No. 2 at Thu Thiem Station, the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau railway at Station S18, and the North-South high-speed railway at Thu Thiem and Long Thanh Stations.

With an estimated investment of VND84.752 trillion ($3.454 billion), including some VND5.5 trillion ($216 million) for site clearance and resettlement, the project is proposed to be developed under the public-private partnership, with plans to commence construction by 2030 and begin operations by 2035.

As a national-scale project, the Thu Thiem-Long Thanh railway requires approval from the law-making National Assembly and investment authorization from the government leader.

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