High-speed rail investment on the North - South axis: Benefits and challenges

Abstract

As a great pride of the country, high-speed rail provides flexible, time-efficient, safe, courteous, on-time, high-capacity and environmentally friendly transportation. High-speed rail promotes regional connectivity by promoting socio-economic benefits and supporting transportation goals and policies. One of Vietnam's most significant strategic projects is the high-speed rail project, which spans 20 provinces/cities from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on the North-South axis. However, the project faces significant challenges, including a high investment cost (over 65 billion USD, nearly one-sixth of Vietnam's annual GDP), financial risks and difficult-to-quantify impacts like spatial development restructuring and changes in transportation sector market shares. Meanwhile, cheaper maritime and inland waterway transportation remains underutilized; road transportation, despite being expensive, currently dominates. Thus, careful evaluation and consideration are vital for the feasibility and balance of the transportation system on the North-South axis. This article studies the imbalance in the North-South transportation system, the direction of Vietnam Government on High-Speed Rail development, thereby evaluating the benefits and challenges, providing valuable reference material for project refinement.

Keyword: The North-South transportation; Freight transportation; passenger transportation; unbalanced development; investment costs; new technology.