Sai Gon Railways to launch new trains

Sai Gon Railways JSC will launch new routes to connect the city’s outskirts with Bien Hoa City in the southern Dong Nai Province from April 15.

New rail routes will connect Sai Gon’s outskirts with Bien Hoa from April 15.

The new train routes are expected to meet the passengers’ demand for shorter routes, reducing the pressure on roads that are overcrowded.

The advantages of the routes will include on-time arrival and departures, as well as various convenient schedules for the passengers to choose from.

Accordingly, there will be 10 trains running each day, including two trains connecting Song Than and Bien Hoa, four connecting Bien Hoa and Go Vap and four connecting Bien Hoa and Sai Gon.

The new railway routes will not be operated for profit, but for the residents’ needs. The train fares would be at par with bus fares on the same routes, Pham Van Son, president of the board of directors of Sai Gon Railways JSC, said.

The passengers will also be able to transport their bikes and motorbikes on the trains for free, he said.

As the Ghenh Bridge has collapsed, trains travelling from Sai Gon to Bien Hoa Station will end their journey at Di An Station and stop at Go Vap, Binh Trieu and Song Than stations to pick up passengers.

5 train carriages moved to Dong Nai

The Viet Nam Railway Transportation Service Joint Stock Company has transported five carriages from Song Than Station in southern Binh Duong Province to three stations in southern Dong Nai Province.

Passengers at the Bien Hoa railway station. -- Photos: VNS

The move aims to improve loading capacity of the trains to carry goods and passengers in Dong Nai Province during the upcoming holiday of Reunification Day on April 30.

The collapse of the Ghenh Bridge last month in Dong Nai Province shut down the North-South railway, putting pressure on railway stations in the province.

To address the problem, the Ministry of Transport ordered the upgrade and expansion of three stations in Dong Nai Province, namely Bien Hoa, Trang Bom and Ho Nai.

To transport these five carriages of 37, and unload them for installation, five 50-tonne special-purpose vehicles and two cranes weighing 110 and 45 tonnes, respectively, have been mobilised.

Within the upgrading and expansion plan, the Viet Nam Railway Transportation Service Joint Stock Company is also upgrading the road surface and launching more rails at these stations.

“After the expansion, Ho Ga Station will have one more train stop, doubling the capacity of loading and unloading of goods,” Tran Van Hanh, head of Ho Ga Station, said.

According to Pham Thi Thanh Hoa, head of the transport section of the Bien Hoa railway station, a system of water pipes carrying water to the trains, a concrete lobby for passengers to walk along the rails and station roofs, are under construction.

More staff from the Binh Thuan railway transporting company, which controls the railways from Binh Thuan Province to Dong Nai Province, and from Sai Gon Station, has been mobilised to manage the travel of passengers.

According to the Viet Nam Railway Corporation (VNR), construction work on the new Ghenh Bridge across the Dong Nai River began on April 1 and is expected to be completed by July 15.

Source: VNS