HCMC – The revival of the nearly-84-kilometer railway from Phan Rang to Dalat has been under consideration with an estimated cost of VND27.7 trillion, according to the Ministry of Transport.
A pre-feasibility study of the project will be carried out by Bach Dang Hotel Complex Trading – Service JSC and submitted to the Ministry of Transport by the end of this year, the Ninh Thuan authority told the media on September 15.
With a total length of nearly 84 kilometers, the revival of the Thap Cham-Dalat Railway will require an estimated investment of VND27.7 trillion using the public-private partnership format.
The project will comprise 17 stations, 64 bridges, five tunnels and a 16-kilometer rack rail section. The site clearance area in Ninh Thuan Province has been estimated at around 130 hectares, mainly agricultural land.
The investor has been assigned to complete investment preparation by 2024. It is expected that the project will be put back into service in 2030.
The Thap Cham-DaLat Railway was built by the French in 1908 and completed in 1932. It has fallen into disuse since 1968 due to its degradation and unsafety.
The railway is the second in the world to use a rack rail to traverse steep terrain, after the Jungfraujoch that runs across the Alps.
A part of the railway, the Trai Mat-Dalat section, with a length of 7 kilometers, has already been revived and used as a tourist attraction in Dalat City.
