Workers are repairing the railway sections that were damaged by the flood. Photo courtesy of the Việt Nam Railways

NHA TRANG — The railway sector suffered infrastructure damage stretching from Diêu Trì Station in Gia Lai Province to Nha Trang Station in Khánh Hoà Province and losses amounted to tens of billions of đồng during the historic flood in the South Central region.

The initial loss is estimated VNĐ50 billion (US$1.9 million)

According to the Việt Nam Railways' report, the flood caused railway congestion from November 17-25.

There have been 105 passenger trains and 65 cargo trains suspended from operations due to the flood.

During the train suspension, more than 35,000 free meals, including main and side dishes, were served to passengers on affected trains.

Besides, the sector has refunded 39,000 tickets equivalent to VNĐ24 billion ($914,000).

Although the North-South railway line has been repaired since November 25 (after 8 days of congestion), there are still many slow-running points.

To ensure train safety and to suit actual conditions, the railway sector is forced to adjust the passenger train schedule.

Specifically, the sector has temporarily suspended SE6/SE5 trains departing from Sài Gòn and Hà Nội stations from December 2-10;  SE22/SE21 trains departing from Sài Goàn and Đà Nẵng stations on December 2-4 and 8-10.

Train suspension is notified on passengers’ phones and tickets can be returned at the website dsvn.vn or at the stations. VNS