The 393-kilometre 1.435mm gauge route would start in the border province of Lao Cai, run through Hanoi and seven other cities and provinces and end in the northern port city of Hai Phong’s Lach Huyen Port. A 5.6-kilometre section would run between Lao Cai Station and China’s Hekou Station.

The Ministry of Transport is planning the construction of a railway route which will go through China’s Hekou County

The ministry will hire Beijing-based China Railway Fifth Survey and Design Institute Group to be the consultant for the project which would allow trains to operate at up to 160km/hour.

According to the Chinese consultant’s proposal, the project should be divided into different phases with priority to be given to the Lao Cai-Hekou and Lao Cai-Haiphong sections.

The consultant has forecasted that the cargo transported through the Lao Cai-Hekou railway section would be 9.4 million tonnes per year and the figure would reach 12.55 million tonnes.

The Chinese company highlighted the necessity to use the 1.435mm gauge, saying that most of China’s railways were built with this standard track gauge and only a number of short-range railways near the Vietnamese border had 1,000mm gauge tracks. So the 1.435mm gauge line would help Vietnamese cargo trains to enter China and Central Asian countries.

The Ministry of Transport is still working with the Chinese side on the Lao Cai-Hekou railway line.

The cost of the project has not been disclosed.

The Ministry of Transport has asked Vietnam Railways Corporation to prepare for the project.