State-owned Vietnam Railways Corp is talking with Japanese trading company Itochu Corp about the construction of a Shinkansen-style train route linking Hanoi with its airport, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday.

The 47 km (29 mile) double-track line would connect Noi Bai International Airport with three stations in the capital, the Transport Ministry-run Giao Thong Van Tai newspaper said.

It gave no investment value, but a source familiar with the talks told Reuters a preliminary estimate put the cost at more than $200 million.

The source said the partners were still discussing details such as project dates, funding and track locations, which could be partly underground.

Japan's Nikkei business daily reported last August that the Shinkansen high-speed technology would also be used for a railway connecting Hanoi in the north with Ho Chi Minh City in the south.