Hanoi Railway Station
The proposal was made by Colonel Dao Thanh Hai, deputy head of Hanoi Police Department, during a meeting with the Transport Ministry on April 15.
Hai said the relocation is necessary because trains travelling inside the city cause congestion at crossings.
The Vietnam Railway Corporation (VRC) said there were 388 railway accidents in 2014, with 161 fatalities and 256 injuries. In the first two months of 2015, there were 86 collisions occurred, killing 37 people and injuring 48.
There are many residential areas along the railroad and it was common for people to try to use crossings even when they are closed for an oncoming train. Vietnam has 6,000 registered crossings, of which 4,200 are illegally opened by locals.
Tran Ngoc Thanh, the general director of VRC, said the Hanoi Railway Station is the hub of the city's rail network and its location is integral to the city's urban planning.
"If we relocate the station now, then we don't know how to connect all the railways for the next 10 years," he said.
The Hanoi Railway Station, in Le Duan Street, Cua Nam Ward, Hoan Kiem District, was originally built in 1902, with the main hall rebuilt after being bombed in the American War. Its side wings remain as they were constructed. It is the starting point of five railway lines leading to almost every Vietnamese province.
Thanh said Hanoi has about 400 crossings and it was almost impossible to remove these crossing simply to meet the demands of street traffic.
