Lam Dong Vietnam - The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has expressed support of a proposal on restoring a French-era cog railway connecting the resort city of Da Lat in the province and the coastal Phan Rang-Thap Cham city in Khanh Hoa province.
 
The provincial People's Committee issued a notice on the proposal following a recent working session on the pre-feasibility study on the work, submitted by the Bach Dang trade, service, and hotel company.
 
The Lang Biang Cog Railway, the only one of its kind in Indochina, was built during the French colonial rule in early 20th century.
 
Construction of the route started in 1908 and took 24 years to complete.
 
It was designed for trains to climb the Song Pha Pass, which is at an altitude of 1,500 metres above sea level.
 
After the liberation of the southern region in 1975, the route was totally damaged, and most the rails, locomotives, and train carriages were dismantled and used for other purposes.
 
In 1991, a 7 kilometre section of the route between Da Lat and Trai Mat was restored to serve tourism by the tourism sector in coordination with the Vietnam Railway.
 
The service attracts hundreds of visitors each day.
 
An old station on the route, with its architecture combining European style with the local traditional "Rong" house, still remains.
 
The proposed project on restoring the railway in the form of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) will need an investment amounting to more than VN$1 trillion, and should be subject to approval by the Transport Ministry, the Government, and the National Assembly.
 
Lam Dong authorities have asked the Bach Dang company to study recommendations from the Vietnam Railway Authority and other relevant agencies and complete a pre-feasibility study for submitting to the Transport Ministry.
 
Author unknown.