Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed Vietnam’s railway sector to develop national transport infrastructure, particularly high-speed railway, in an address to a January 9 conference launching plans and tasks in 2024 for the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR).

He asked the sector to have an investment policy for the North-South express railway line approved by 2025 and for the project to be completed by 2045.

The government leader instructed the sector to apply modern administrative methods that are suitable to the country’s circumstances; restructure its apparatus to guarantee the more effective use of existing assets and financial and human resources; promote digital transformation and green transition; and shift to circular, sharing, and knowledge economies.

The railway sector carried 4.6 million tons of goods and 6.1 million passengers in 2023. Total revenue stood at VND8.5 trillion (more than $350 million), or 101.7 per cent of the annual plan.