May, 13, 2026
By Prof. Samitha Hettige
When Sri Lankans were rushing to train stations to go home to celebrate Sinhala & Hindu New Year on 14th April 2026, Vietnam’s Paramount Leader & President ‘To Lam’ arrived in China for a 4 day state visit. He is referred such since he heads Vietnamese Communist Party & the government. It was his first foreign trip since taking office in early April. A key feature of the trip was to experience China’s high speed rail (HSR) network. He began the visit with a HSR trip from Beijing to Xiong’an & concluded the visit with a 2400 KM rail journey from Beijing to Nanjing. Those who remembered compared Lam’s Beijing Nanjing rail trip to Deng Xiaoping’s historic HSR trip in Japan in 1978 soon before opening the Chinese economy. It was after experiencing the trip Deng had advised Chinese engineers to develop a similar train in China. As Vietnam is planning its HSR with assistance from China to lift its economy to next level, Lam’s train trip is expected to be a historic juncture.
China Vietnam Rail
The 855 KM Yunnan–Haiphong railway (Indo-China–Yunnan Railroad) was the first rail road between Vietnam & China. It was built by the French colonial rulers (1904 to 1910) to deliver European products to the region & takeaway natural resource, minerals & opium etc. to Europe. The train also opened the Chinese market for Vietnamese & Cambodian products (i.e. rice, dry fish, wood & coal etc.). Before the rail road, travel time from Haiphong port to Kunming was approx. 28 days (16 days by boat along the Red River & 12 days overland) (Ref. Indo China statistics). The Kunming - Hanoi rail road now connects the two countries & the proposed HRS is expected to turn a new page in rail connectivity.
Approx. 26 year ago twice a week cross border passenger services operated between Kunming & Hanoi. However, due to landslides there were frequent delays & in 2005 the passenger service on the Chinese section was terminated & most passenger coaches were donated to Myanmar (Ref. Media).
Lessons for Sri Lanka
If French railroads in far-east were good, China developing railroads to increase regional connectivity under the BRI is equally good. Some Sri Lankans blame Minister Bimal Rathnayake for not renovating railroads washed away during ‘Ditwah’. Is it worth spending wealth to renovate a railroad on landslide prone land? Instead alternative methods such as cable cars & low altitude transportation should replace such rail tracks. Sri Lankans should utilize the technical knowhow which comes with the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) as in Vietnam to increase connectivity. Those who heard President Lam talking have seen Sri Lankans working with China & India to develop Hambantota & Jaffna railroads respectively. Some who saw ‘Yaldevi’ resuming its journey till Kankesanthurai on May 11th 2026 (Ref. Media) asked if trains can usher peace when President Mahinda opened the reconstructed Jaffna railroad with Indian support. However, same people never criticised PM Narendra Modi then for helping to rebuild the northern railroad. Sri Lankans should learn from Vietnam, work with those near & far to develop infrastructure to increase connectivity. That will prevent conflicts & take the country to the next level. When the country develops, some western forces symbolizing ‘Rambo’ will not be able to infiltrate to destabilize as in Vietnam.
Few countries in the world have railways capable of operating at 4000 meters above sea level - To Lam
Photo Source WWW: Deng Xiaoping travelling in Japan’s (Shinkansen) bullet train.
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