Yunnan-Vietnam Raiway

Yunnan-Vietnam Railway or the Sino-Vietnamese Railway was a 855 km railway built by France during 1904-1910, connecting Haiphong, Vietnam with Kunming, Yunnan, China. The section within China from Kunming to Hekou is known as the Kunming-Hekou Railway, and is 466 km long. The section within Vietnam is 389 km long. The railway used 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge due to the mountainous terrain along the route. Currently it is the only main line in China using metre gauge, but may be converted to standard gauge.

History
The railway was opened in 1910. There was a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge branch line from Jijie to Gejiu which operated 0-10-0 tender locos built by Baldwin Locomotive Works[1]. The metre gauge section was originally administered in more or less the same way as the Indochinese networks, and it was physically possible for through trains to run from Kunming to Singapore, as metre gauge was used in Malaya also.

Under pressure from Japan, France closed the line on 16 July 1940 to cut supplies to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. During the Japanese occupation Japanese National Railways Class 9600 2-8-0 locomotives were shipped to aid their invasion, and after the completion of the "death railway" it was possible for a time to send through traffic to Burma and hence to the Indian metre gauge network. This is now not possible, as sections of the railway were destroyed during the conflicts since World War II.

Present state
Twice-a-week cross-border passenger service (involving the passengers having to transfer from a Chinese train to a Vietnamese train at the border station) operated as late as 2000, but landslides caused frequent delays. Eventually, the passenger service on the Chinese section of the railway was terminated, and this section is now used for only freight. Nonetheless, according to Chinese news agencies, some investment continues to be made to keep the railway running. For example, it was reported in 2004 that 100 million yuan (USD $12 million) was to be spent to buy 10 new diesel locomotive for the railway. As of 2008, upgrade work was said to be continuing on the Chinese side.

On the Vietnamese side, passenger trains continue to run from Hanoi to the border town of Lao Cai.

A photocopy of the memorial to the emperor about the Regulations of the Yunnan Railway reached by and between the Foreign Ministry of the Qing regime and France，which granted France the right to build the Yunnan section of the Yunnan．Vietnam Railway．

The Yunnan section ofthe Yunnan．Vietnam Railway iS located in middle south of the Eastern Yunnan Plateau．Except for the Kunmin9·Yiliang section that cuts through the hills on the plateau．this railway line generally follows river lines，zigzagging its way around mountain ranges and negotlatmg treacherous regions like lOW mountainous areas on the plateau and flatlands between moun—tains and steep gorges．Kunming iS no more than 300 kilometers from Hekofi as the crow flies．but the difierence in height iS as great as l 807 meters from south to north．and the steepest slope iS 25‰．

After the Sino．French、var．Frenchmen went to Yunnan to conduct geological and mineral explorations and conduct railway surveys under the pretext of trade．missions and tours．After l 897，France organized several teams to con—duct railway surveys．They drafted a primary route and put forward a“west line”plan．This would start from Lao Caiin Vietnam and pass via Hekou in China to Kunming by way of Mengzi，Yuxi and Chenggong and along the  Xinxian river valley．In l 899．further explorations proved that the geographical and geological conditions in the Xinxian fiver valley were unsuitable．The area was marked by steep slopes and small curve radius while the land had little load bearing ability．This route would also have demanded a huge investment  and caused much opposition and protest from locals on account of the need to seize cultivated land．

The French lndochina Railway Construction Company consequently reorganized its explorations．They dropped the“west line”plan and came up with an“east line”plan．This called for the traversing ofthe Nanxi river valley via Mengzi．Kaiyuan and Yiliang to Kunmin9．In March l903，the survey for the“east line”was finished and the plan was consequently approved．