Vietnam Railways, the state-owned operator of Vietnam's railway networks, said on Monday that it has planned to invest over 202 million U.S. dollars in purchasing 100 new locomotives and 950 new carriages from now to 2020.

Under its proposal submitted to the Transport Ministry, Vietnam Railways will pump nearly 4,659 billion Vietnamese dong (more than 202 million U.S. dollars), with 70 percent coming from bank loans, into buying 100 locomotives worth 94.1 million U.S. dollars, 150 passenger carriages worth 72.8 million U.S. dollars, 300 container carriages worth 11.7 million U.S. dollars, and 500 smaller carriages worth 23.9 million U.S. dollars.

Vietnam Railways currently manages 282 locomotives, including 270 locomotives in use, and most of them are aged 30 years or more. The state-owned corporation is supposed to discharge some 60 old locomotives, 500 old passenger carriages and nearly 1,000 old freight carriages from now to the end of 2022.

Vietnam's railway sector transported 5.5 million passengers in the first seven months of this year, decreasing 10.3 percent against the same period last year, and 3.3 million tons of cargoes, up 2.3 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office.