Vietnam considers shorter version of rejected high speed railway

News - Vietnam plans to conduct feasibility studies on two short high-speed rail projects after a longer route was rejected by lawmakers.

The National Assembly in June voted down the government's project for a 56-billion-dollar high-speed railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City over cost concerns.

Ministry of Transport chief of office Nguyen Van Cong said officials were to meet Tuesday with Japanese aid officials to ask them to pay for feasibility studies on two shorter routes, the newspaper Tien Phong reported.

The routes would run from Ho Chi Minh City to the beach resort and port of Nha Trang, and from Hanoi to the central city of Vinh. Japanese aid experts have suggested those routes are more likely to earn back their costs.

The newspaper Tuoi Tre reported that the government has already circulated documents to several ministries declaring it plans to build the shorter routes, and will use Japanese official development assistance to fund them.

The paper quoted Assembly member Ngo Van Minh as warning the government to keep in mind the Assembly's opposition to the earlier project.

"If (the donors) agreed to sponsor this project, why doesn't the government persuade them to sponsor more suitable ones, like high-speed roads?" Minh said.