Railway History: From Limestone Road to 1,200km/h 'Super Train'

Railways are one of the most important inventions of mankind since the pre-industrial era. Until now, it is still an endless source of inspiration to reach new heights, bringing the influence of science and technology to human life.

Historical Journey: When did the railway begin?

As early as 700 BC, a basic form of railway was invented and used throughout ancient Greece and Rome. It was actually a limestone-paved road built in Corinth, a narrow strip of land connecting the Peloponnese peninsula to the mainland, between the two "capitals" of Athens and Sparta.

Known as the Diolkos , this route was extremely important because it allowed ancient merchant and transport ships to avoid the long and dangerous journey around the Peloponnese peninsula.

Diolkos combines the two basic principles of railway and water transport. It is paved with limestone, 3-6 meters wide, with parallel grooves spaced about 1.6 meters apart.

Ancient documents suggest that transportation on Diolkos was carried out using some type of wheeled vehicle, but it does not rule out the possibility that the ancient Romans used ships themselves to move on the route by integrating a wheel system in the bottom of the ship.

The concept of railways dates back to the 1550s in Germany , when people built tracks with two long strips of wood, and called them "wagonways".

The reason for this name is because at that time, the Germans mainly used horses to pull the wagons. And having a track underneath the wheels would help the wagons move quickly between areas compared to the ground. It also limited the wheels from getting stuck in the mud, or being damaged when rolling over rough roads.

By the late 1700s, wooden rails were replaced by iron, and became popular throughout Europe.

By the 1800s, engineers began to use steam locomotives to replace horse power, providing greater efficiency and the ability to pull more wagons. At this time, people began to change the name from freight cars to trains.

In 1550, the Germans began building long railways for horse-drawn carriages. This was the forerunner of today's railways (Photo: RTF).

Railways in Vietnam

In Vietnam, the first railways were built in 1899 under French colonial rule with the initial goal of transporting food, in order to capture the lucrative Indochina rice market.

In 1936, a locomotive first traveled the entire length of the railway line then called the Trans-Indochinois, 1,730km long with a total time of 60 hours.

The steam locomotive used to pull the train cars is the USRA Light Mikado No. 639 (abbreviation: Mike). This type was first manufactured and used in 1884 in Australia. After that, it gradually became popular in the US, France, Germany, Japan, China.

Steam trains were then gradually replaced by diesel trains, and the iconic image of the North-South train with a General Electric locomotive became familiar from the 1970s.

General Electric BB locomotive combining electric and diesel engines used on the North-South Reunification Railway (Photo: Historicvietnam).

This train line gradually became the "string" in the war against the US, liberating the South of the nation, as the only bridge between the two regions. The war ended in April 1975, the North - South railway line was completely cut off by bombs.

According to National Geographic, an estimated 1,334 bridges, 158 stations and 27 tunnels were severely damaged and in need of repair.

However, after just over a year of hard work, more than 60,000 cadres, workers, soldiers and people along the railway have dug and filled over 4 million cubic meters of earth and rock, rebuilt 475 bridges, installed 660 km of railway, and built 150 stations.

On the morning of December 31, 1976 , a long train whistle sounded, starting the Reunification train leaving Hanoi station, heading to Ho Chi Minh City amid the enthusiastic welcome of the people. The train was a symbol of Vietnamese unity, acting as a "bridge" between the three regions of the country.

Since the time of the first North-South Reunification train with a journey of over 80 hours, today, the railway industry has made rapid progress. Every day, dozens of Reunification trains roll out to serve passengers. Among them are modern, comfortable trains rated 5 stars with the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City journey shortened to only 29 hours.

Train TN5 on the North-South route, Van Dien - Thuong Tin section (Photo: Wikipedia).

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Duc Huy, 64 years old, residing in Pham Dinh Ho ward (Hanoi), said that he is one of the long-time passengers of the North-South Reunification Train since the route was resumed.

"The Thong Nhat ship means a lot to me, because at that time, many members of my family still lived and worked in Ho Chi Minh City. Not only did the members rarely see each other, but business was also stagnant ," said Mr. Huy.

Up to now, although traveling by train takes longer than by air, Mr. Huy still believes that the experience of traveling by North-South railway is "irreplaceable": "Sitting on the train, perhaps many people will be like me, feeling relaxed when traveling through the routes connecting provinces and cities. It is a very different experience."

In 2023, the North-South railway won the top spot among the eight most beautiful railway routes in the world, according to Lonely Planet, one of the world's largest travel websites.

The 2,772km railway takes passengers through lush rice paddies, picturesque villages and bustling cities, offering a glimpse into the diverse landscape of Vietnamese life, the website describes.

The future of the railway industry in Vietnam and around the world

According to the Guinness World Records Organization, the world's fastest train using maglev technology reaches a speed of 603km/h , meaning it can reach the speed of a commercial aircraft.

This is an achievement recorded by the Series L0 (A07) train, operated by the Central Japan Railway Company on the Yamanashi maglev line, in Yamanashi province (Japan) in April 2015.

An L0-series train operates in Fuefuki City (Japan) in August 2020 (Photo: Yamanashi).

Recently , the T-Flight maglev train, built by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), has attracted attention, when it even surpassed that number, and set a record at 623km/h thanks to superconducting maglev technology.

The technology, also known as a "hyperloop" , works by "levitating" the train into the air to eliminate friction, and moving it through a specially designed vacuum tube.

According to CASIC, accuracy is extremely important, with every detail having a deviation of less than 1 mm for the contact surface. In particular, the difference in flatness of the rail cannot even exceed 0.3 mm.

Thanks to that, the train can move in near-vacuum conditions, reducing air resistance, approaching a "near-ground flight" at extremely high speeds.

Experts predict that this technology could allow trains to reach speeds nearly three times faster than current speeds due to the lack of air resistance, and could reach 1,200km/h once installed and deployed.

Vietnam is not out of the "game", but will currently only apply the basic principles of traditional railways, combined with more advanced and modern technology.

Accordingly, Vietnam will deploy the North-South high-speed railway, with a design speed of 350km/h, load capacity of 22.5 tons/axle, capable of transporting passengers and goods on the route extending from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

Dr. Truong Thi My Hanh, Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Transport (University of Transport Technology), said that to achieve this speed, the high-speed railway will eliminate railway crossings, the entire railway line has been raised and at-grade crossings have been eliminated.

In addition, the axle load will be reduced by the system and method of power distribution, helping to reduce the burden on the structure, combined with technology to support ship control.

This expert also said that this type of technology was developed and put into operation in 1964 in Japan, and is currently being developed in many countries around the world, especially in China in the last 2 decades. In Vietnam, high-speed rail technology has been tested to ensure safety, has an average investment cost, and is capable of connecting to the current railway network.