Railways in
Vietnam
D19E-939, a Chinese built 2000hp Co-Co diesel electric locomotive
heads a Vietnam Railways freight train at an unidentified location
The first railway line in Vietnam was a metre gauge steam tramway opened in 1881 between Saigon (present day Ho Chi Minh City) and Chợ Lớn, a distance of about 6km. This line later became part of the Saigon tramways network; it was electrified in 1927, and closed in 1954 with the rest of the network.
A separate metre gauge railway opened in 1885 from Saigon to Mỹ Tho, about 70km, taking a separate route between Saigon and Chợ Lớn. The lightly built line was never hugely successful and for the most part closed in 1958, although the first 8km from Saigon to Phú Lâm remained in use for freight services until the late 1960s or early 1970s.
The first lines that formed part of the present day national metre gauge system were constructed from the late 1890s onwards. Early lines formed networks around Saigon and around Hà Nội in the north of the country (including international links between Hà Nội and China), but the important main line linking the two was not completed until the 1930s.
At Phú Lâm, the metre gauge line from Hà Nội met the standard gauge network of China, necessitating transhipment for through traffic. Following World War II, during the period when North and South Vietnam were partitioned from each other, the line between Dong Dang and Hà Nội (together with some other lines in the area) were converted to dual gauge, so enabling through services.
The metre gauge line from Hà Nội to Lào Cai continued into China as far as Kunming, thus allowing through traffic from the start. However, the line on the Chinese side of the border was closed in 2000 for safety reasons. It was reconstructed and reopened as a standard gauge line in 2014, but without any provision for cross-border interchange. In 2019, a preliminary planning study was completed for a new 392km standard gauge line from the port of Hải Phòng via Hà Nội to the Chinese border at Lào Cai, connecting with the Chinese railway and essentially replacing the existing metre gauge line.
An inter-governmental agreement exists for a rail connection with Cambodia, but has not progressed to the planning stage.
In 2023, a contract was let for the construction of a new 103km standard gauge railway from Vũng Áng port to the Mụ Giạ Pass on the border with Laos. This represents the Vietnamese section of a 555km railway to Vientiane, Laos, for which an intergovernmental agreement had been signed in 2017.
Also in 2023, a pre-feasibility study was being prepared for a new 125 km railway to link industrial areas in Bàu Bàng with the Cái Mép Thị Vải terminal and ports in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province.
In 2023, tracklaying commenced on the new standard gauge line between Lào Cai and Hekou, China, connecting with the Chinese national network. This short railway is expected to open by the end of the year, and will make international rail transfer more straightforward, even taking into account a break of gauge at Lào Cai.
In 2024, government approval was given for the construction of a new 1541km standard gauge high speed line from Hà Nội to Ho Chi Minh City. The first sections of this line, from Hà Nội to Vinh and from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City, a planned for opening by 2030. The remaining section of this line, along with the other planned new lines, will be completed in stages with a projected completion date for all parts by around 2050.
In 2025, government approval was given for the construction of a new 390km standard gauge railway from the port of Hải Phòng via Hà Nội to Lào Cai, where it will connect with the international link to China, currently under construction.
© 2005-2025 Glyn Williams
Photo image by Dang Thanh