Chuyên gia nêu những ưu điểm nổi bật của đường sắt tốc độ cao

The North-South high-speed railway is proposed to have a design speed of 350km/h, mainly carrying passengers, combined with cargo when necessary - Illustration: AI

With experience in railways, airways, roads, and waterways in the US, Europe, China, and ASEAN, Associate Professor, Dr. Vo Tri Hao recognized the outstanding advantages of high-speed railways, to answer the question of why the North-South high-speed railway should be deployed early.

Discipline: The punctuality of railways gradually forges the discipline of that nation.

Limiting traffic conflicts: Railway traffic does not conflict between street traffic flows, where each vehicle is controlled by an independent driver, unaware of each other's plans and intentions.

Reducing traffic congestion, attracting tourists, thanks to the ability to underground through major cities.

The central station (Hauptbanhhof) of Berlin, Germany shows the absolute advantage of electrified railways (due to no emissions) so it can be designed underground, running through the heart of large cities.

From here, four other effects are created:

First, passengers do not need to use buses, metros or public transport to connect to the lines, to go to the suburbs, to crowded bus stations far from the center such as My Dinh (Hanoi) or the new Mien Dong bus station (HCMC).

This cuts thousands of bus trips transferring passengers between the central area and the suburbs, limiting congestion.

Second, it saves costs for passengers who no longer have to spend money on taxis to the suburban bus station to catch a bus home (like the new Mien Dong bus station, 15km from the center). Or from the inner city to Noi Bai airport (Hanoi) or from Ho Chi Minh City to Long Thanh airport (Dong Nai).

This is the attraction between high-speed rail and airplanes.

Third, tourists from other localities often prioritize visiting the central area, which will also save costs. Therefore, the city is more attractive in the eyes of tourists.

Fourth, electrification of railways, compared to aviation, road transport will contribute to reducing greenhouse gases.

In addition, it is possible to exploit multiple uses with the same exit when necessary. Unlike magnetic levitation or one loop technology, high-speed rail technology uses iron rails, and the wheels can still be exploited for multiple uses.

In fact, Germany does not use magnetic levitation technology, but uses high-speed electrified railway technology.

On the same track, different types of locomotives with different load-bearing structures and speeds can be exploited to carry passengers and freight alternately.