Soon after the appointment of a new President at the head of Vietnam Railways (VNR), Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, Director General of UIC made a visit to this member in the UIC Asia-Pacific region. There was a particularly warm welcome and a keen interest in UIC’s activities.

VNR are currently in the process of overhauling their network and the visit of Mr Loubinoux coincided with the passing of law to reform Vietnamese railways.

Mr Loubinoux assured VNR that UIC would provide its full support in accompanying this reform which aims to double capacity within the context of a three-year plan, amounting to an investment of 300 million dollars.

The projects within the plan include an overhaul of the network’s infrastructure, building a link to run at speeds of up to 200 km/hour between Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City, as well as renovating rolling stock and the signalling system.

This law was passed in parliament by a majority and Mr Loubinoux acknowledged this reform and congratulated the President of Vietnam Railways Mr Vu Anh Minh on this occasion.