HÀ NỘI — Even as the proposal to shift Hà Nội station is being discussed by policy-makers, experts and citizens, the railway maintained that the master plan had not mentioned such a move.

“The master plan for the development of Việt Nam’s Railway by 2020, envisioning up to 2030, as approved by the Prime Minister, does not mention the shifting of Hà Nội station out of the city centre,” Đoàn Duy Hoạch, deputy director of Việt Nam Railway, said on Wednesday.

He was responding to the proposal to shift Hà Nội station, which was raised by Phạm Xuân Bình, deputy director of Hà Nội Police Department, on Tuesday.

According to Bình, Hà Nội has about 10km of inter-province railway with several intersections. This triggered conflicts, rail accidents and urban intricacy. Therefore, he said moving the station would help resolve these issues.

Hoạch said that Việt Nam Railway would consider Bình’s opinion, but the decision would be made by Prime Minister.

He also proposed a plan to build MRT or BTS systems, instead of moving Hà Nội station out of the city centre.

Phạm Xuân Thủy, a traffic expert, said that Hà Nội station helped connect transport infrastructure and reduced distances among routes to other locations.

The current location of the station makes it convenient for citizens to use other modes of public transport, such as buses, metro (in the future) and taxis, Thủy added.

Hà Nội will lose billions if the station is moved, he said.

“Moving the station has been proposed from the perspective of public security. Conversely, it will worsen the situation because of the increasing pace of travel, which may lead to more traffic accidents. On the other hand, people are used to travel from the city centre, moving the station would mean they will have to change their habit,” Thủy said.

Several famous cities have stations at their centres, namely Moscow, Paris and Tokyo.

“I don’t want it to be moved. We should find other solutions to ease the traffic conflict points and improve the city’s infrastructure,” said Nguyễn Thị Tuyến, a resident near the Hà Nội station.

Đào Ngọc Nghiêm, deputy dead of Hà Nội Association of Urban Architecture, also said that moving the Hà Nội station would prove to be costly, and show poor vision on heritage preservation.

He said that Hà Nội station was just a transit point and not a junction. Junctions have to be urban or inter-province stations; therefore, moving the station is not necessary, he added. — VNS