HANOI: North–South railway services have resumed over Ghenh Bridge after a barge collision shut the key route for more than five days.
On Wednesday (March 11) morning, freight train H4501, with 22 wagons and a total load of 962 tonnes, became the first train to cross the bridge since the incident on the Dong Nai River.
Senior leaders of the Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) and technical teams were on site to monitor and review safety indicators before allowing the train through.
Inspections confirmed the bridge and track were safe for temporary use. Soon after, train SE6 crossed.
Nguyen Quoc Vuong, Deputy General Director of VNR, said trains are currently restricted to 5km per hour when crossing the bridge to ensure maximum safety during the initial restoration phase.
He said a site command unit was set up immediately after the accident to direct emergency reinforcement and repair work, while rail units rerouted train and freight flows and organised bus transfers for passengers across the affected section.
Engineering teams and relevant agencies worked around the clock to repair the damaged sections of the bridge in order to reopen this critical North–South artery as soon as possible.
Rail services over Ghenh Bridge have resumed one day earlier than the original target of Thursday, helping to limit disruption.
In the next phase, VNR will replace the damaged N2 span girder, a job expected to take about 60 days after approval.
The reopening of Ghenh Bridge is seen as a key step toward fully restoring North–South rail services after days of disruption.
At about 10.17am last Friday, barge NB-8437, operated by Pham Thanh Binh, struck compartment five of span two of Ghenh Bridge on the Dong Nai River.
The collision severely damaged the steel truss and bearings, misaligned the track by about 320mm and injured a motorcyclist on the bridge.
Dong Nai Provincial Police have opened a criminal investigation. - Vietnam News/ANN
