The Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line has a total length of 30km and was built in 1966, starting from Cau Giat station (Quynh Luu commune), ending at Nghia Dan station (now Thai Hoa ward), the whole line has 3 stations, divided into 4 sections and 6 crossings. This railway line was built as an important part of the Vietnam railway traffic system during the war against America.
In the historical context at that time, the formation of the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line was considered the lifeline between the lowlands and the highlands. It not only served the needs of transporting passengers and goods between the Northwest region and the plains of Nghe An province but also played a strategic role in providing logistics for the southern battlefield. With complex mountainous terrain and constant attacks from the enemy, the construction and maintenance of this route was a miracle of the Vietnamese railway industry.
The “golden age” of the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway was from 1970 to 1990, when 2-3 trains ran every day, and the railway industry had to mobilize hundreds of workers to work at stations, crossings, and signal information. However, after the 90s of the 20th century, when National Highway 48A connecting the northwestern provinces of Nghe An with National Highway 1A was upgraded and expanded, people chose to travel by car, which was more convenient and faster than by train, so this railway began to fall into a state of desolation, with few people passing by.
In 2006, the Railway Company had to stop passenger transport and by 2012, freight transport was also forced to stop. Although no longer in operation, the state still has to pay an annual amount of about 1.4 billion VND to pay the salaries of about 10 workers to maintain, protect the corridor and look after assets at Quynh Chau and Nghia Thuan stations.
The representative of Nghe Tinh Railway Joint Stock Company (the unit managing this railway line) said that the suspension of Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line was due to objective factors, when the transport infrastructure developed, the means and transport fares of other types of transport were more convenient, lower than the fares of the railway, while this railway line had not received adequate investment. Previously, the railway industry had to spend more than 6 billion to maintain it even though it was no longer in operation, but later it was reduced to about 1.4 billion to pay workers' salaries and carry out inspections, protect infrastructure, protect works on the line and protect against encroachment of traffic safety corridors according to the plan's requirements.
However, this leader also admitted that after many years of disuse, this railway line has seriously degraded. Most of the rail sleepers have rotted, the screws are heavily rusted, and weeds have grown everywhere. Many of the level crossings have been built by people with dirt and rocks piled on top of the rails to make it easier for vehicles to pass. The stations are almost abandoned and face frequent encroachment by the people.
In Document No. 8227/UBND-NC dated October 20, 2022 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province reporting on the railway infrastructure system of the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan route, it is stated that: The railway line has a total length of 30km and has stopped operating trains since June 2012. Up to now, violations of railway infrastructure, land reserved for railways, and railway safety corridors on the route have occurred seriously. The entire route has 217 points of violation and encroachment on the railway corridor, of which Quynh Luu district (old) has 61 points and Thai Hoa town (old) has 156 points.
In 2022, Nghe Tinh Railway Joint Stock Company also reported the current status of the entire railway line to Vietnam Railway Corporation . The survey showed that the entire 30km long line has 42 curves and 26 sections with large slopes. Concrete sleepers have replaced most of the previous wooden sleepers, but after a long period of not running trains and not being maintained, the sleepers have rusted, broken, and lost their effectiveness. In many sections, the wooden sleepers have rotted and been buried under the ground. The entire line has 12 sets of tracks, all of which are in very bad condition, the sleepers have rotted, and some sets of tracks are buried by rocks and soil.
Of the 7 bridges, including 2 steel girder bridges and 5 concrete bridges with ballasted troughs, all have been damaged, the wooden sleepers on the bridges have mostly rotted and broken. In addition, there are 17 level crossings on this route, of which 6 need barriers and 11 have signs. Currently, the barrier houses and equipment and materials at the level crossings have deteriorated and are damaged, some have been dismantled.
For the past 13 years, although no longer in operation, the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line has had to be maintained as a mandatory "heritage". Railway management agencies are still responsible for protecting and maintaining some minimum facilities just to maintain annual reporting data to higher levels. During meetings with voters, people in Thai Hoa town (old) have repeatedly expressed their indignation, petitioning competent authorities to move Nghia Dan station out of the town center because it has been inactive for more than 10 years, causing environmental pollution and wasting assets and land.
However, in response to voters' petitions, in November 2024, the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction ) said that according to Decision No. 1769/QD-TTg dated October 19, 2021 of the Prime Minister approving the railway network planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line will continue to be maintained and operated to meet future transportation needs. In the coming time, the Ministry of Transport will direct the Vietnam Railway Authority, Vietnam Railway Corporation and relevant agencies to review, research and assess the demand for passenger and freight transport by rail to consider and decide on upgrading and renovating the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line to restore train operations.
This issue, according to the reporter's investigation, is related to the restoration of the Cau Giat - Nghia Dan railway line. Previously, the People's Committee of Thai Hoa town (old) had sent many documents to the railway management agency requesting that if it continued to be used, some adjustments must be made. Specifically, according to this locality, in the Thai Hoa town master plan adjustment project approved by the Nghe An provincial People's Committee in 2019, Nghia Dan railway station was planned to the east of the town (near Ho Chi Minh road).
In addition, the eastern area of Thai Hoa town currently has Nghia Thuan station with an area of over 16,000m2, so it is recommended that the authorities clarify whether to continue using this station or not. If not, where is the new station expected to be located and what is the area size so that the town has a basis to arrange the location and land fund in the zoning plan accordingly.
Despite sending many recommendations, the locality still has not received a definitive answer from the railway industry, leading to difficulties and obstacles in implementing plans as well as investing in the construction of technical infrastructure and social infrastructure works in the area.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/Giao-thong/nghich-ly-chi-tien-ty-de-duy-tri-tuyen-duong-sat-bo-hoang-i773941/
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