The delivery of the first train for Hanoi's second metro route has been postponed to July 2020, instead of March as initially planned.
A new report from the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) suggested that the 10 trains for the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station route are currently being built in France and are 34.4% finished.
The elevated portion of the line is almost complete, and the MRB is rushing the French contractors to work faster in order for the segment to begin operations in April 2021, as reported by VnExpress.
With a maximum speed of 80km/h and an average operating speed of 35km/h, it will be much faster than Hanoi's public bus system, which travels at 16–18km/h, and Hanoi Bud Rapid Transit's (BRT) 23km/h.
The passenger capacity of each train will be 850–950 passengers, while they are around three meters wide and 80–100 meters long.
The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station system is Hanoi's second metro line after the Cat Linh-Ha Dong route, stretching 12.5 kilometers from the Nhon area to the west of Nam Tu Liem, passing through Kim Ma Street and towards Hanoi Railway Station.
A total of 8.5 kilometers of elevated tracks will run through eight stations, while the remaining four kilometers are designed to run on underground tracks, which are planned to be completed in 2023.
The MRB said a train will arrive at a station every five minutes during the initial operating period, but this will eventually be shortened to two minutes.
The investment for the project is said to be VND36 trillion (US$1.56 billion) from official development assistance (ODA) funds.
The Cat Linh-Ha Dong line runs from Cat Linh Station, Dong Da District to Yen Nghia Station in Ha Dong District and has been delayed numerous times. It is currently 99% complete and was initially scheduled to open last April, but as of now, there is no timeline for public operation.
[Photo via VnExpress]
