Construction work on Cat Linh – Ha Dong metro line project, the first of its kind in Hanoi, has been completed, pending only safety check prior to commercial operation, VnExpress quoted its project director as saying.

Tang Hong, director of the project, said on December 19 that the construction of the railway, installment of equipment, and training of staff have been completed and the contractor has notified the Ministry of Transport accordingly. "The general contractor has sent the entire dossiers to the investor," he said.

A train runs on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in Hanoi, with the average speed of 35km/h

Hong, who works for China Railway Sixth Group - the EPC contractor, said the scheduled 20-day-trial in November lasted only five days before it was suspended after the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) under the Ministry of Transport requested the contractor to finish some procedures first. 

"The five-day trial showed that all Vietnamese staff were able of independently operating the line. The trial will resume with approval from MRB," Hong added.

A representative of MRB confirmed that construction of the railway project is basically finished and installment has been approximately in 97% complete, except for some items that are not essential for the operation of the metro.

The Chinese general contractor is working to comply with the criteria so as to go on with the trial run, including ensuring the capacity of staff to handle emergencies, the representative added.

The project still depends on the safety evaluation from the French consultancy Apave-Certifier-Tricc (ACT) consortium before it can be handed over to the Ministry of Transport. The Hanoi People's Committee will take over the whole project after that for commercial run.

Hong said he wanted accelerate the process, as the project is bleeding VND50 billion (US$2.16 million) a month on salaries of over 200 Chinese and Vietnamese staff, as well as VND100 million (US$4,300) a day on electricity.

Cat Linh – Ha Dong railway is one of the key public transport projects in Hanoi. Since September 2018, this project has tested all 13 trains, with the average speed of 35 kilometers per hour.

The railway is 13.5 kilometers long from Cat Linh Station in downtown Dong Da district to Yen Nghia Station in the southwestern Ha Dong district and uses standard-gauge rail track (1.435mm).

The designed speed of the track reaches 80km/h and with the frequency of two minutes.

Hanoi’s second metro line’s final bidding package signed

The Hanoi Railway Management Board (MRB) on December 18 signed the final contract (CP09) for Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station metro line with French bidding winner RATP Smart Systems and Flowbird Corporation, Giaothonghanoi reported.

Package CP09 named "Design, supply and install railway system No.4 - Automated ticket collection system (AFC)" has a total value of EUR10.9 million (US$12.13 million).

At the signing ceremony, General Director of RATP Smart Systems Pascal Auzannet expressed his pride to be awarded the contract to provide the ticket system for the project.

The corporation will work closely with Hanoi’s MRB and Systra Supervision Consultant to strictly comply with the project's technical regulations and standards and Vietnam’s laws so as to implement this package, contributing to the overall success of the project, Pascal Auzannet added.

Head of Hanoi’s MRB Nguyen Cao Minh said that RATP Smart Systems and Flowbird are experienced contractors of many urban railway projects around the world. The two sides pledged to implement the CP09 package as required by the contract, bringing Hanoi an advanced ticket system, which meets European standards.

The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station route, the capital’s second metro line after the Cat Linh-Ha Dong route, is 12.5 kilometers long from Nhon area in the western district of Nam Tu Liem, via Kim Ma street to Hanoi Railway Station in the downtown. It will run 8.5 kilometers on elevated tracks through eight stations and the remaining four kilometers underground. The underground track is scheduled to begin operations in 2022. Hanoitimes

Anh Kiet

HCMC seeks US$1.3 billion from central Gov’t to fund metro construction

The HCMC authority is seeking approval from the municipal People’s Council to borrow a total of over US$1.3 billion from the on-lending fund of the central Government to construct the city’s second metro line.  

Hanoi plans to expand three metro lines by 59km

The Hanoi government is also considering building a number of monorail lines to better exploit the entire urban railway system in the capital city.