User:Dragfyre/Sandbox/Vietnam Railways

Vietnam Railways (Đường sắt Việt Nam) is a state-owned railway company that operates the national railway system of Vietnam. It has a number of different subsidiaries involved in construction, communications, training, and other activities connected to railway maintenance.

History
Rail transport was introduced to Vietnam in the 1880s, supported by the French administration of Indochina. Paul Doumer, Governor-General of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902, launched the construction of several of the main lines during his tenure, including the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway and the North–South Railway. Construction of the latter, dubbed the Transindochinois, would last until 1936, when the entire Hanoi–Saigon link was formally put into full operation.

From World War II through to the end of the Vietnam War, the railway network was subjected to considerable damage from sabotage and bombing attacks perpetrated by all sides. Following the Geneva Conference in 1954 and the partition of Vietnam which followed, the government of the newly-formed Democratic Republic of Vietnam established a General Railway Administration, a precursor to Vietnam Railways. After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the communist government of the newly-unified Vietnam took control of the former South Vietnamese railway, putting the combined network under the authority of the Railway Administration. The heavily damaged, war-torn North–South line was restored and returned to service on 31 December 1976, promoted as a symbol of Vietnamese unity. In the short time between the surrender of the South and the reopening of the line, 1334 bridges, 27 tunnels, 158 stations and 1370 switches had been repaired. Initially, low rail tariffs and the poor state of infrastructure used in other modes of transport led to high usage, but revenue proved to be insufficient to cover the railway's operating costs. In 1986, the Government's implementation of Doi Moi economic reforms led to the deregulation of the transport sector and the shift towards a market-led economy, forcing the railways to change in order to maintain a competitive edge.

In 1990, the General Railway Administration was reorganized into a series of state-operated enterprises, including 3 regional operating companies, 20 infrastructure companies, and a number of other companies dealing in cargo services, construction and repair of rolling stock, tourism and training (including a junior college and a railway technical school), collectively known as the Vietnam Railway Union. Since that time, railway reform has passed through a number of stages. Responsibility for rail infrastructure and operations were separated by government decree in 1994. The Government of Germany began providing assistance with the restructuring of the railway sector in 2000, allowing VNR to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations, thus increasing its competitiveness.

In 2003, VNR was re-organized as a state corporation, the Vietnam Railway Corporation, operating in railway transport and related services; railway administration and infrastructure management were given to the Vietnam Railway Administration, a railway authority directly under the Ministry of Transport. A Railway Law was passed by the National Assembly on 19 May 2005; although regulations for the law's implementation have yet to be issued, it does provide a strong basis for further sector development.

Network


The network operated by Vietnam Railways has a total length of 2600 km on seven main lines, dominated by the North-South line running between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The network is composed of single-track lines, mainly at metre gauge, with some standard gauge and mixed gauge lines around Hanoi. A number of industrial railways have also been established, mainly in the north of the country, serving factories, mines, quarries and other industrial zones. There were 278 stations on the Vietnamese railway network as of 2005, most of which are located along the North-South line.

Usage
In the year 2000, Vietnam Railways

In 2000, VR operated 65 passenger trains and 91 freight trains daily. It had 377 locomotives (337 diesel), 887 passenger cars and 4,455 freight cars. Rail traffic volumes of both passenger and goods have been gradually increasing. In terms of freight transport, the railway carries mainly bulky cargoes such as ore, cement and fertilizer. VR transported 9.7 million passengers (3.1 billion passenger-km) and 6.2 million tones (1.9 billion tonne-km) in 2000.

Passenger traffic density if high on the Hanoi-Saigon and Hanoi Haiphong lines. Cargo traffic density is high on the Hanoi-Lao Cai line.

Track, tunnels, bridges, signals, stations, depots, workshops, and rolling stock are generally in poor condition, often obsolete, and utilization is very low. Nevertheless, VR is relatively well operated technically and between 1999 and 2003 saw revenues increase 15% per annum.

The Government of Viet Nam made investment in transport infrastructure a key priority in its 2001–2005 public investment program (PIP). This emphasis has been continued in the current PIP. Nationwide, freight and passenger demand measured in ton-km and passenger-km grew by 10% a year over the same period.

As of 2007, 85% of the network's passenger volume and 60% of its cargo volume was transported along the North-South Railway.

Development
Several railway lines have been proposed for construction in Vietnam in recent years. The largest such project is the high-speed North-South Express Railway connecting Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, (see High-speed rail, below) valued at approximately US$56 billion. Due to its cost, plans for the line are currently on hold pending further study of the project. Other projects involve the restoration of previously existing lines, such as the Da Lat–Tháp Chàm and Ho Chi Minh City–Loc Ninh lines, both of which were originally built in the 1930s, but fell into disuse after decades of war. The proposed Ho Chi Minh City–Loc Ninh and Mu Gia–Vung Ang lines (both of which had either existed or been considered before World War II) would permit new international railway links to Cambodia and Laos, respectively. A parliamentary resolution of 2005 proposed that foreign investors be invited to invest in Vietnam Railways.

Rolling stock
The Siemens Asiarunner locomotives are contemparies to the Eurorunner class and are designed specifically for the South-East Asian market - in particular metre gauge - key features are a Co'Co' wheel arrangement (resulting in low axle loads) and good clearance (see Loading gauge) Vietnam Railways operates has 16 of the AR15 model which will be used on the main Hanoi – Da Nang – Ho Chi Minh City route serving both passenger and freight services. Access to the main engine compartment is via the roof, which has three removable segments, there is a single side corridor which allows an escape route in the event of certain emergencies (compare the wide gauge Eurorunners which have two passageways). The engine is a 12 cylinder MTU model - similar to that used in the Eurorunner except with 12 instead of 16 cylinders.

The locos can work in multiple with up to three connected.

It is assumed that all freight trains are hauled by the new locomotive type D20E ( SIEMENS AsiaRunner AR15 VN) presently under procurement and to be introduced into VNR operation during the year of 2007. -- http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Consultant/33307-VIE/33307-VIE-TACR.pdf (this file has a metric asston of info about vnr locos; see pp.304-307)


 * Number of locomotives in use


 * Number of coaches in use (2006)


 * 331 diesel locomotives
 * 34 steam locomotives
 * 852 coaches
 * 3922 cars

Administration
VR now consists of 3 rail transport companies, two for freight and one for passengers and a number of financially independent SOEs, which will gradually become joint stock companies. Government is responsible for financing VR’s infrastructure, and collects 10% of VR’s operating revenue for use of the infrastructure.

The railway has about 41,600 staff but their productivity is low compared with other countries in the region.

Continuing reform
The railway company does not have a market orientation, it is mainly driven by production concerns, and is not successful in finding new markets. With much equipment unserviceable the levels of utilization of assets, the track and overall staff productivity is low.

There is a huge backlog of infrastructure maintenance as the funds available have been used just to sustain operations in the short-term. Past neglect increased the resources to repair tracks, bridges and tunnels and most of the track needs replacing or major rehabilitation.

In the absence of modern business tools, the management cannot assess the costs and revenues of carrying particular traffic, introduce new arrangements for utilizing assets, or forecast the financial effects of alternative business strategies.

The financial and performance agreements between railway and government are inadequate. The infrastructure payment is not directly related to variable maintenance costs or cost variations on different railway lines. There is no long-term agreements on investment, subsidy or operating and financial performance.

Notes and references

 * Notes


 * References