Elevated section of Hanoi’s second metro line to open this month

Duong Duc Tuan, vice chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, on Wednesday said Hanoi had already operated the elevated section as a trial. The ministries of transport, construction and finance have also completed evaluation of the safety systems, he added.

The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line spans 12.5 km, with the elevated section spanning 8.5 km and the rest being underground. The project began construction in 2009 and was supposed to be completed in 2015, but several delays have pushed the completion date further back, with the elevated section now expected to be complete this month, and the entire line in 2027.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has requested Hanoi and HCMC to put the elevated sections of the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line and the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line into operation sooner than planned.

The development of urban railway networks in Hanoi and HCMC needs to take into account local characteristics, including connectivity with the high-speed North-South railway.

Ha has instructed the two cities to choose top-tier design units for the planning of the urban railway networks, with a vision “spanning for 100 years.”

As the Politburo has envisioned, by 2045 Hanoi and HCMC must complete their urban railway networks. By 2035, each city must have 200 km of urban railways.

By 2030, HCMC should have eight metro lines and three monorails, spanning a total of 220 km and costing around $25 billion.

Hanoi should have 10 urban railway lines spanning a total of 417 km, with 342 km of elevated sections and 75 km underground. The capital currently only has the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in operation, after over 10 years since its construction date.