This gap, coupled with China’s expanding railway network in Southeast Asia, risks isolating Vietnam from the emerging pan-Asian transport infrastructure.[6] As such, the North-South HSR project has become a crucial necessity to meet the country’s increasing demand for both travel and logistics. This is why domestic opposition to the project has

the network, is a relic that remains in use in only a few other countries. Current train speeds are modest, with maximum speeds of 100km/h for passenger trains, and about 50-60km/h for freight trains. These are significantly lower than in regional neighbours where newer, faster lines have been developed. For example, the maximum train speed in Thai

Vietnam’s long, narrow geography underscores the critical need for an efficient railway system. However, financial and technical limitations have long impeded the development of such infrastructure. The national railway network, spanning 3,315 kilometres,[4] was largely constructed during the French colonial period between 1881 and 1936, with no