People freely crossing the railway. Photo baoxaydung.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Construction has proposed a project to handle 18 intersections with high traffic density on three railway lines of Hà Nội – HCM City, Yên Viên - Lào Cai and Hà Nội - Đồng Đăng.

These locations are situated across nine provinces and cities across the country and are all intersections with national highways.

The proposed solution is to construct an overpass or underpass, creating a grade-separated intersection to eliminate existing at-grade crossings.

This will improve train safety, reduce level crossing operating costs, alleviate road traffic congestion when trains pass, and reduce the risk of accidents.

The total estimated investment is about VNĐ8,375 billion (US$ 320 million), of which about VNĐ4,836 billion will be borrowed from the World Bank for construction, equipment, supervision consulting, and contingency. The domestic counterpart funding is approximately VNĐ3,539 billion, allocated for land acquisition, project management, and consulting.

The project is proposed to be carried out in 2026-2030 period with plan of capital allocation within five years since the assistance agreement comes into effects.

Along the North-South railway line running throughout the country, thousands of level crossings with roads exist, including a large number of unauthorised crossings – places where people cross the railway tracks on their own initiative.

These are a real transportation need of the community, but at the same time, they are "black spots" posing a particularly serious risk of traffic accidents.

The Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) reports that by late 2025, the entire railway network had eliminated and fenced off nearly 1,600 unauthorised crossings out of a total of 4,000, achieving about 39.6 per cent.

Thus, more than 2,400 illegal crossings remain unaddressed, accounting for about 61 per cent of the total level crossings between roads and railways – locations with a high potential for traffic safety hazards. — VNS