They were speaking at a workshop co-organised by the Viet Nam Railway Corporation and the Japanese Overseas Rolling Stock Association (JORSA) on the construction of the north-south high-speed railway project in Viet Nam.

The 1,630 kilometre-long railway linking Ha Noi and HCM City is estimated to cost US$33 billion. When fully operational, it is expected to allow trains to operate at speeds of 300-350km/h.

Deputy Minister of Transport Le Manh Hung said the Vietnamese Government gave priority to developing transport systems, particularly rail networks, to serve modernisation and industrialisation.

He said the Japanese Government had supported the development of many transport projects through development assistance. These include national highways 5,10 and 18, the Hai Van tunnel, Cai Lan Port and Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Japanese speakers at the workshop said that high-speed railway systems had many advantages, including safety, stability, efficiency and the fact that they were environmental friendly.

They said that in the 44 years since the Shinkansen high-speed line was opened in Japan, not one fatality had occurred.

They added that the network timetable was so efficient that trains were late for a total of less than one minute a day.

The proportion of carbon-dioxide discharge is one-sixth of that from a passenger plane and one-ninth of that from an automobile.

Yamaguchi Takeo from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co Ltd said that to effectively develop implement the high-speed rail system, close co-operation was needed with ministries and agencies.

"Investors and the Government should work to ensure capital, land clearance and the completion of legalities," he said.

Director General of the Viet Nam Railway Corporation Nguyen Huu Bang said that in November, the Prime Minister had approved a Viet Nam railway infrastructure development strategy to the year 2020 with a vision to 2050.

The north-south project is expected to start next year and be completed by 2016.

Bang said he hoped for more support from the Japanese Government in helping train Vietnamese engineers to serve in the construction and operation of the railway.

The Japanese Government has said it would provide financial assistance to three large-scale construction projects in Viet Nam - the north-south railway, the Hoa Lac hi-tech park and the north-south highway.

This followed the Viet Nam-Japan joint declaration made during a visit to Japan in 2006 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.