Vietnam Railways reported lucrative profits of VND170 billion (USD8 million) for 2013 at a year-end review meeting on January 3, but Transport Minister, Dinh La Thang, pointed out weaknesses.
Transport Minister Dinh La Thang pointed out weaknesses of the Vietnamese railway sector
According to Vietnam Railways, in 2013, the sector earns total revnues of around VND11 trillion (USD523,800), up about 9% compared from the year before.
The Transport Minister roundly criticised the railway sector for operational weaknesses, saying, “I have seen no meaningful reforms."
Thang added that the method of selling train tickets remains out-dated and are in many cases more expensive than airfare. He also criticised the food and drink as being unhygienic and too expensive.
The minister requested that the Ministry of Transport to raise the average speed of passenger trains to 80-90 km/h and that of cargo trains to 50-60kp/h.
The chairman of Vietnam Railways, Tran Ngoc Thanh, said 2014 will be the year the corporation implements plans made in 2013. He also recommended withdrawing the proposal for five new train routes in the northern and central region from January 1, 2014 on the grounds that they would cause losses.
Recently, the corporation said they have been taking an average loss of VND90 billion (USD4.3 million) per year.
The train routes up for decommissioning would be the Vinh-Dong Hoi, Dong Hoi-Hue, Gia Lam-Dong Dang, Yen Vien-Ha Long and Long Bien-Quan Trieu lines.
