Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is experiencing impressive population growth. The municipality has set out to address this situation and control impacts in terms of pollution, public health and loss of productivity, by building a metro network. The City of Hanoi adopted a Master Plan to address the urgency of this “urban transport crisis”, which was updated in 2007-2008. It plans to build a network of five metro lines and 3 Bus Rapid Transit lines, which should be completed by 2030. The main route - line 3 or Nhon-Hanoi Station metro - will be the first metro line in Hanoi. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved an additional grant of EUR69 million (US$75.1 million) for the Ha Noi Train Station-Nhon urban metro rail project in Hanoi and has authorised Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung to sign the agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) on behalf of the Vietnamese government.
AFD is cofinancing the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro, which is considered as a pilot line. The Ha Noi Train Station-Nhon urban metro rail project will construct 12.5 km of a double-track railway from Nhon to Ha Noi station, 8.5 km will be elevated between Nhon depot and Thu Le Zoo. There will be 4km underground in a twin tube between Thu Le and the Ha Noi railway station. The Ha Noi’s metro line 3 will run West to East across the city with 12 stations in total; Nhon Terminal, Minh Khai, Phu Dien, Cau Dien, Le Duc Tho, National University, Chua Ha, Cau Giay, Kim Ma, Cat Linh, Van Mieu and Ha Noi Railway Station. It will be extended to 21 km to Hoan Mai in the south by 2020 and to 33 and 48 km by 2030 this will be to Son Tay in the west.
On 15.01.2016 the Hanoi Railway Transport Company (HRTC) and Japan’s Tokyo Metro signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in developing the capital’s urban railway network. Tokyo Metro will provide the technical consultation and experts and together with HRTC build, operate, and manage urban railway projects. The Hanoi Railway Transport Company was established in 2011 with the consultation services provided by Tokyo Metro. Visit http://www.adb.org/.
