On April 12, 2026, the Hanoi Guangning high-speed railway project will officially start construction at the site of the Ha Long Blue Station in Xunzhou Fang and Yuexing Fang, Ha Long City, Guangning Province. As the first high-speed railway in Vietnam to adopt a public-private partnership investment model, this project is not only a transportation hub connecting the capital Hanoi with the northern economic hub of Guangning, but also regarded as a pioneer in the construction of Vietnam's high-speed railway network.

This 120 kilometer long railway artery has internationally leading technical standards. The line adopts a double track electrified railway with a standard gauge of 1435 millimeters, with a designed maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour. The project crosses four provinces and cities: Hanoi, Beining, Haiphong, and Guangning. The starting point is located at Guluo Station in Guluo County, Hanoi City, and the endpoint is in the Xunzhou Public Park area of Xunzhou Fang, Guangning Province. A total of 5 passenger stations and 1 vehicle depot are planned for the entire line, including Guluo, Jiaping, Ningshe, Anzi, and Halong Blue. Among them, the length of the section crossing Guangning Province is 39.325 kilometers, which will end the history of Guangning without railways.

In terms of funding, the total investment of the project reached 147.37 trillion Vietnamese dong, implemented through PPP mode, excluding land acquisition and demolition compensation costs. It is worth noting that the land acquisition and demolition costs of approximately 10.27 trillion Vietnamese dong will be fully borne by the national finance and will not be included in the total project investment. This arrangement greatly reduces the investment risk of social capital. Keywords: Southeast Asian railway transportation, Hanoi Guangning high-speed railway

The strategic significance of this project lies in building a modern railway transportation corridor from Hanoi to Haiphong and Guangning. At present, the journey from Hanoi to Halong Bay mainly relies on highways, which takes about 2.5 hours. After the completion of the high-speed rail, it is expected that the total operating time will be shortened to less than 50 minutes, achieving a one hour living circle. The project is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2028.Editor/Cheng Liting