Hanoi–Đồng Đăng railway

Hanoi–Đồng Đăng railway (Vietnamese: Đường sắt Hà Nội–Đồng Đăng) is a railway line in the country of Vietnam. It is a single-track standard-gauge and metre-gauge (dual-gauge) line connecting the capital Hanoi to Đồng Đăng, on the China-Vietnam border in Lạng Sơn Province. It has a total length of 162 km (101 mi).^[1]

Hanoi–Đồng Đăng railway
Hanoi–Đồng Đăng railway (dual gauge)
Overview
Owner	Vietnam Railways
Locale	Vietnam
Termini	Hanoi station Đồng Đăng station
Website	http://www.vr.com.vn/en
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Opened	1902
Technical
Line length	162 km (101 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)

At the border, the Hanoi–Đồng Đăng railway connects with the Hunan–Guangxi railway in China. The station on the Chinese side of the Friendship Pass is Pingxiang.

Along with the North–South railway, the Hanoi–Đồng Đăng railway line is part of a rail system across the Eurasian continent.

History

Hanoi-Nanning train sign

The railway was built under the French colonial rule. The first section from Lạng Sơn to Bắc Giang was built between 1890 and 1894, originally adopting a 600 mm narrow gauge. Under the rule of governor Paul Doumer the railway was converted to metre gauge and extended to Hanoi (in 1900), and to Đồng Đăng (in 1902).^[2][3][4] In 1954 the line was renovated with help from China, and connected to the Chinese Hunan–Guangxi railway.^[5] During the Vietnam War, the PLA Railway Corps repaired the railway from wartime damage and converted it to the present dual gauge.^[6][7]

On 1 January 2009 through passenger service between Nanning (China) and Gia Lâm (Hanoi) started.^[8]