Vietnam Plans to Train 140,000 Rail Specialists as Major Projects Approach

A workforce plan for Vietnam's biggest rail expansion

Vietnam is preparing to train more than 140,000 people by 2045 to support a railway expansion led by a North South express line designed for speeds of 350 kilometers per hour. A draft national program led by the Ministry of Construction would build the engineering, technical and operating skills needed to construct the lines and keep them running.

As of October 2, 2025, the first training phase targets about 35,000 people between 2025 and 2030. A proposal under review would allocate more than 40.5 trillion dong, about US$1.6 billion, to workforce training and improving existing skills through 2030. The training program and funding proposal remain under consideration.

The government has approved nine new railway routes, upgrades to seven existing routes and 28 urban lines for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The expansion pipeline is described as adding more than 1,100 kilometers by 2045. Its flagship project, the North South express railway, would stretch about 1,540 kilometers, with groundbreaking targeted for 2027.

The Lao Cai to Hanoi to Hai Phong railway is another priority. The corridor would run for about 420 kilometers, connecting trade at the northern border with ports while carrying both passengers and freight. Construction is expected to begin by late 2025.

These projects are intended to connect rapidly growing cities, reduce pressure on roads and move more freight onto cleaner rail transport. Their success also depends on people: engineers who can design the infrastructure, technicians who understand electrical and signaling systems, and operators who can manage trains safely.

Officials warn that a shortage of those skills could leave Vietnam reliant on foreign experts for design, construction and daily operations. The training proposal therefore reaches beyond recruiting construction crews. It aims to develop people who can learn imported technologies, maintain them and eventually lead improvements within Vietnam.

What the two training phases would deliver

The draft program divides training into two periods. Between 2025 and 2030, about 35,000 people would study specialties needed for high speed rail, electrified national routes and urban metro systems.

The first phase includes 1,000 postgraduate students, 14,000 university graduates, 11,000 college trainees and 9,000 workers receiving intermediate level training. Those four groups add up to the 35,000 target, with qualifications ranging from advanced research to practical technical work.

About 12,000 learners would focus on operations and maintenance across national and urban rail systems. That is roughly one third of the first phase intake, showing that the program is concerned with running the network as well as building it.

Subjects would include construction engineering, track, electrification, signaling, transport economics and railway operations. Transport economics concerns the costs, demand and financial decisions involved in running transport services. Electrification covers the equipment that supplies power to electric trains.

From 2031 to 2045, another 105,000 people would be trained. The later phase would place greater weight on research, technology transfer and innovation, including a core group of about 5,000 specialists dedicated to mastering key technologies.

Technology transfer means learning the knowledge and practical methods needed to use and maintain equipment supplied by an outside partner. The draft calls for stronger cooperation among universities, industry and government, modern laboratories and simulators, and incentives to attract and retain people in engineering, management and research.

Why labor demand reaches 338,000 workers

The Vietnam Railway Authority estimates that railway labor demand between 2025 and 2030 could reach about 338,000 workers. That total covers project management, consulting and large construction crews across the sector.

Approximately 9,200 project managers and close to 13,000 consultants would be needed as railway sections enter design and construction. Building high speed rail alone could require 70,000 to 80,000 people, including thousands of engineers, project managers and supervisors. Once lines enter service, another 20,000 highly skilled workers would be needed for operations.

The 338,000 estimate covers a much wider labor pool than the national program's 35,000 training places through 2030. Contractors would recruit both general and specialized construction workers for civil engineering, track laying, bridges, tunnels and stations, drawing partly on the existing construction workforce.

The national training program concentrates on skills specific to rail that Vietnam currently lacks. Its graduates would help receive transferred technology and lead technical work, operations and maintenance. Construction recruitment and specialist training would therefore proceed together, serving different needs within the same expansion.

The skills behind a modern railway

High speed and electrified railways demand skills beyond those used on conventional diesel lines. Civil engineers must design and build viaducts, tunnels and embankments to precise limits so trains can travel smoothly and safely. Track engineers must check the stability of the ground beneath the railway, the quality of ballast and the exact position of the rails.

Ballast is the stone supporting conventional track. Some sections may instead use slab track, where rails are supported by a solid structure. Both approaches require careful construction and maintenance, especially when trains travel at high speeds.

Electrical specialists would design and maintain traction power systems, overhead catenary lines and substations. Traction power is the electricity used to move trains. Catenary lines are the overhead wires supplying that electricity, while substations manage its delivery to the railway.

Signal and communications engineers would work on train control, interlocking and transmission networks. Interlocking coordinates signals and track switches so conflicting train movements are kept apart. Metro lines also require communications based train control, which uses communications systems to manage train movements.

Dispatchers would coordinate traffic from control centers. Drivers and guards would need rigorous instruction and simulation to meet safety standards at high speeds. Maintenance teams would look after rolling stock, meaning trains and railway vehicles, as well as track, overhead power lines and signaling equipment.

Predictive maintenance and condition monitoring would help those teams identify developing problems. These methods use information about equipment condition to guide repairs, rather than relying only on a fixed maintenance calendar.

Digital skills are also part of the proposed training. Building information modeling helps teams coordinate designs through digital representations of infrastructure. Digital twins represent assets digitally, while data analysis supports decisions about their condition and management throughout their working lives.

Students and professionals already in employment would need experience with those tools alongside core engineering. Safety culture, human factors and emergency response training are required at every level. Human factors concerns how people work, communicate and make decisions within the railway system.

From laboratories to operating railways

Universities and specialized colleges would combine classroom teaching with simulation and practical experience. The national plan envisages laboratories for power electronics, control systems and signaling, giving learners access to equipment related to the systems they would eventually operate or maintain.

Driving, dispatching and maintenance simulators would allow trainees to practice procedures before entering the field. Partnerships with operating railways would provide experience on construction sites, in depots and inside control rooms. Certification aligned with international standards would support expansion while maintaining safety.

Vietnam Railways Corporation has already begun pilot training with foreign partners. On June 10, the Railway College launched its first high speed training course in cooperation with Chinese railway institutes in Liuzhou and Kunming.

More than 200 workers and technicians from maintenance and signaling units entered a program with two phases. They would receive three to four months of theoretical instruction in Vietnam from visiting experts, followed by around three months of practical training in China.

The initial subjects are railway infrastructure and railway signal information. Plans call for expansion into train driving and traffic control, extending the program from maintaining assets to managing the movement of trains.

Universities, contractors and overseas partners

Government agencies are sending personnel for instruction in construction techniques and project management. Private contractors are also investing in training, with Vietnamese groups sending engineers to learn tunnel boring machine operations and advanced track construction.

Tunnel boring machines excavate tunnels using large mechanical equipment. Training engineers to operate them supports the construction work required by major rail projects. Vietnamese groups are also establishing production lines for sleepers and track. Sleepers are the supports that hold rails in position.

The Ministry of Construction and several universities, including Da Nang University of Science and Technology, are coordinating new programs for railway and metro construction specialists. Policy proposals include joint degrees with overseas universities, scholarships for priority subjects and shared laboratories.

A dedicated academy for high speed rail is also among the ideas being considered. It would coordinate standards and curricula nationwide, helping training institutions prepare people for common requirements across projects.

International companies are exploring cooperation in training and technology transfer. Meetings with South Korea's Hyundai Rotem have focused on rolling stock production, control systems and the possibility of bringing maintenance and component manufacturing into Vietnam.

France's Alstom has expressed interest in cooperation that includes training and sharing expertise. Japanese support builds on decades of transport ties, while Chinese institutions are already providing courses and practical experience. Together, these relationships offer ways to bring in knowledge while developing domestic capability.

Who would pay and how workers would be retained

The proposed allocation of more than 40.5 trillion dong through 2030 would support workforce training and improvements in existing skills. The financing approach combines state support, project budgets, enterprise programs and international assistance.

State budget funding would support public institutions and officials, while companies would pay for training their employees. Learners and employers are also expected to share some costs. Training expenditure would be included in major railway project budgets so operating and maintenance teams could be prepared before services open.

Public private partnerships and cooperation with international development banks could provide additional funding for facilities, laboratories and faculty development. Sustained financing would need to be matched by coordination among the organizations responsible for teaching, construction and railway operations.

Vietnam also needs ways to attract strong students and retain professionals already working in the sector. The proposals include competitive pay for skills in high demand, clear career paths in engineering and operations, and scholarships for subjects such as signaling, power electronics, materials and metallurgy.

Industry bodies have encouraged joint ventures that give Vietnamese contractors a large share of work, alongside targets for the proportion of local workers on project sites. Foreign partners would continue to participate, with cooperation intended to create lasting technical capability and careers within Vietnam.

An industrial opportunity beyond train services

The Ministry of Construction has studied railway industry experience in Japan, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, China and Spain. Creating a complete domestic high speed rail industry would be expensive, requiring a large market, extensive expertise and many suppliers.

Metallurgy, machine tools and control systems are among the necessary capabilities. Metallurgy concerns the properties and production of metals, while machine tools manufacture parts to precise specifications. Vietnam does not yet have the scale to reproduce the entire industrial system domestically.

The immediate focus is therefore on assembling locomotives and carriages for national and urban railways, while mastering operations, maintenance and repair. This would give Vietnamese businesses and workers practical roles as the railway network expands.

Local suppliers could develop electrical cabinets, wiring harnesses, train interiors, civil structures and maintenance tools. Over time, technology transfer and joint ventures could increase domestic production of rolling stock components and parts of signaling systems.

Station areas present another opportunity. Transit oriented development means concentrating homes, businesses and services around transport stations. Such development can create jobs in construction, real estate, retail and logistics.

One private consortium has proposed combining railway investment with large developments around stations to share risk and generate revenue beyond fares. If structured well, these projects could support urban renewal, improve productivity and extend the economic benefits of rail beyond the tracks themselves.

Recruitment, common standards and schedule pressure

Universities face a shortage of prospective students in some disciplines needed for the railway expansion. Materials science and metallurgy programs have experienced very low enrollment, while bridge and road programs have also struggled to recruit.

More students and faculty would be needed to expand intake and sustain specialized laboratories. The training plan responds with scholarships, targeted outreach, updated curricula and partnerships intended to give students clearer employment prospects.

Vietnam also needs common competency frameworks and certification for drivers, dispatchers, signal maintainers, catenary technicians and civil inspectors. These would give agencies and private operators consistent requirements for hiring and maintaining safety as new lines open.

Language instruction is another practical need because many standards and manuals are written in English, Japanese, Korean or Chinese. People receiving transferred technology must understand the instructions they use, including those governing maintenance and safe operations.

Safety culture would need continued attention from classrooms to control rooms. Schedule pressure would also be intense as several projects advance. Early, steady investment in people is intended to reduce delays associated with heavy reliance on scarce foreign experts.

The timetable from approval to specialist training

The National Assembly approved the investment policy for the North South express railway in late 2024. Preparations now target groundbreaking in 2027, while the northern Lao Cai to Hanoi to Hai Phong corridor is expected to begin construction by late 2025.

Training would proceed alongside investor selection for key project packages. International partners have shown interest in providing training, technology transfer and finance, while the government and enterprises would develop their own programs.

• Late 2024: The National Assembly endorsed the investment policy for the North South express railway.
• June 10, 2025: The Railway College launched its first high speed training course with institutes in Liuzhou and Kunming, enrolling more than 200 workers and technicians.
• Late 2025: Construction is expected to begin on the Lao Cai to Hanoi to Hai Phong railway.
• 2027: Groundbreaking is targeted for the North South express railway.
• By 2030: About 35,000 people would complete training under the first phase of the draft national program.
• 2031 to 2045: Another 105,000 people would be trained, with greater attention to research, technology transfer and innovation.
• By 2045: The program aims to build a workforce of more than 140,000 trained people and a core of about 5,000 specialists mastering key technologies.

The Railway College plans to expand enrollment and subjects in the months following its first course. The first national training wave would support early construction packages, testing and commissioning for urban lines, and initial sections of national routes. Commissioning is the process of checking that infrastructure and equipment work properly before entering service.

Vietnam's goal is to develop skills that last beyond the first projects. Maintaining the training effort, preparing enough specialists and retaining them would give the country greater capacity to build, operate and improve a railway network linking cities, ports and borders.

Key Points

• A draft Ministry of Construction program targets more than 140,000 trained railway personnel by 2045, including about 35,000 by 2030.
• The expansion includes nine new railway routes, seven upgrades and 28 urban lines for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
• The North South express railway would run about 1,540 kilometers at a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, with groundbreaking targeted for 2027.
• The 420 kilometer Lao Cai to Hanoi to Hai Phong corridor would carry passengers and freight, with construction expected by late 2025.
• The Vietnam Railway Authority estimates sector labor demand of about 338,000 workers between 2025 and 2030, including construction and professional services.
• About 12,000 first phase trainees would focus on operations and maintenance.
• A proposal under review would allocate more than 40.5 trillion dong, about US$1.6 billion, to training and improving skills through 2030.
• Domestic institutions and Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and French partners would support training and technology transfer.
• Recruitment, laboratories, common certification, language skills and retaining workers are central challenges.
• The plan seeks about 5,000 specialists capable of mastering key technologies by 2045.