In the context that large cities in Vietnam such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are facing pressure of congestion, pollution and infrastructure overload, developing urban railway systems (metro, tram) is considered a strategic, breakthrough solution to improve public transport, towards a sustainable and civilized future.

Urban railway: The backbone of modern transport

In many cities around the world - from Prague (Czech Republic), Paris (France) to Tokyo (Japan), metro and tram systems have proven to be highly effective in transporting large volumes of passengers, reducing pressure on private vehicles and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

In Vietnam, the first metro projects such as Cat Linh – Ha Dong (Hanoi) or Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien (HCMC) initially created positive effects, attracting tens of thousands of passengers every day, gradually changing people's travel habits. Czech Republic – Experienced partner in the railway sector

The Czech Republic is a country with a tradition of more than 200 years of developing railway transport, owning the densest railway network in Europe, including:

• Metro system in Prague (3 lines, 61 stations, nearly 600 million passengers/year)
• Ground tram network in 7 cities, of which the Prague tram is one of the largest systems in the world
• National railway connecting across European borders, high-speed trains and modern locomotive and wagon manufacturing industry

In particular, the Czech Republic has strengths in engineering design, train manufacturing, signal systems and human resource training - core factors for the metro development process in Vietnam.

Vietnam - Czech cooperation: From vision to action

The two countries have a long history of cooperation, especially in the field of education and technology. In 2015, FECON (Vietnam) and SKD (Czech Republic) signed a memorandum of understanding on metro investment cooperation under the PPP model, worth more than 1 billion USD - including 30% preferential loans from the Czech Government.

In addition, the Czech Republic has:

• Supported Hanoi in training human resources for metro operations
• Proposed technology transfer for manufacturing metro cars and components
• Participated in specialized seminars on urban transport planning and management

Suggestions for Vietnam: Developing urban transport following the Prague model

Experience from Prague - where 50-60% of people use public transport - shows that for metro to be successful, a synchronous transport ecosystem is needed, in which metro, tram, bus, public bicycles, etc. are interconnected.

The TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) model - urban development associated with metro - is also a direction that Vietnam can learn from. Metro not only solves traffic problems but also helps restructure urban space, creating growth momentum for real estate, trade and social life.

Conclusion

Vietnam is facing a historic opportunity to transform urban transport. With a foundation of strategic partnership and goodwill for cooperation, the Czech Republic is one of the potential European partners, able to accompany Vietnam on the journey to build a modern, efficient and sustainable metro and tram network.

The combination of technology and experience from the Czech Republic and Vietnam's urgent development needs promises to bring important steps forward for the future of smart transport in Vietnamese cities.

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