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Last November, Vietnam’s Minister of Transport inaugurated the first rail depot and the first part of a 13-km long elevated rail section which will stretch from Cat Linh to Ha Dong in the capital city of Hanoi.
Hanoi is certainly one of Southeast Asia’s most beautiful cities with its parks and its distinctive architecture. But rising living standard for Vietnamese has turned most of the narrow streets and leafy boulevards of Hanoi into permanent clogged highways with fumes and pollution on the increase.
According to data from 2010, total number of vehicles increase on average by 10% to 15% over the last decade. Although they are “only” 350,000 cars registered in the 4 million-inhabitant city, city streets see every day some 3.5 million motorbikes and 1 million bicycles. The urgency is now forcing the government to start the construction of a dedicated public rail system.
Last November, Vietnam’s Minister of Transport inaugurated the first rail depot and the first part of a 13-km long elevated rail section which will stretch from Cat Linh to Ha Dong in the capital city of Hanoi. The elevated railway will connect the city centre of the capital with Ha Dong District westwards, one of most crowded routes in Hanoi. The new railway will include 12 stations and one depot and request an initial investment of US$ one billion. It should transport some 23,200 per day the equivalent of 8.5 million travellers.
According to the latest plan by Vietnam Railway Administration, the urban railway section would be put into service in 2015, a year later than originally planned. It will be operational between 5 am and 10 pm. A second urban line set to link Tu Liem District’s Nhon to Hanoi Central Railway Station, started also last September, but it is facing difficulties to finance the project as total cost rose from US$ 950 million to US$ 1.4 billion. Hanoi City’s urban railway master plan forecasts eight urban railway lines in total which will connect the centre of the capital to most suburbs. Until 2020, five lines are due to be built but the plan seems already impossible. One of the line is also due to connect Noi Bai International Airport to the city centre.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
