Vietnam is set to build a 1,541‑km North–South high‑speed railway. The project, worth more than 1.7 quadrillion VND (US$67 billion), will start construction in December 2027 and aim for completion by 2035, making it a major focus for the country’s future.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Industrial Agency, the railway‑related market could exceed 2.3 quadrillion VND (US$90 billion) between now and 2050. This huge demand offers Vietnamese manufacturers a chance to supply steel, rolling stock, signalling and other equipment.

Vietnamese firms are already moving in. Hoa Phat Group has invested more than 10 trillion VND in a rail and special‑steel plant, while automaker THACO is cooperating with the Republic of Korea’s Hyundai Rotem to develop domestic rolling‑stock production through technology transfer.

The high‑speed line alone may need about 254,400 workers by 2035, including roughly 35,000 new trainees from 2025‑2030 and another 70,000 from 2031‑2035. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc signed a directive on Oct 7 to prepare a railway industrial complex, and the revised Railway Law is designed to promote localisation, technology transfer and workforce training.

If the investment translates into local factories, skilled staff and reliable supply chains, Vietnam’s railway boom could become a catalyst for a stronger domestic industrial base and many new jobs. The success of the rail network will therefore be measured as much by the jobs it creates as by the trains it runs.