The test run took place on September 21, according to the Nghe Tinh Railway Operations Branch.
The freight train passed through the tunnel without a helper locomotive, reducing travel time from more than 30 minutes to about 15 minutes. The new route is also expected to improve safety compared with the old railway section across the mountain pass.
The Khe Net tunnel is part of a project to upgrade the railway through Khe Net Pass, which began construction in March 2024 with investment of more than VND 2 trillion.
The project is financed by official development assistance (ODA) loans from South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund and counterpart funding from the Vietnamese government.
Khe Net Pass stretches for more than 10 km through Dong Le and Tuyen Son communes in Quang Tri. The old railway section has 43 sharp curves that limit train speeds to below 30 km/h.
The upgrade is designed to improve railway infrastructure, increase train speeds and shorten travel times through the pass.
The tunnel is expected to undergo six days of trial operations before officially opening to trains on the North-South railway.
