Alstom on track to complete first train set for Hanoi’s second metro line

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Anh Kiet 22:05, 2019/10/28

The train’s exterior and interior color scheme takes local Vietnamese inspiration and includes motifs such as dragon fruit and the rice paddy field.

Alstom, which is manufacturing 10 trains for the second metro line in Hanoi, will complete the first train set by the end of October, marking an important milestone in Alstom’s first integrated metro system contract for Vietnam’s capital city.

The information was revealed on October 26 during Alstom’s reception for a delegation headed by Permanent Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tran Quoc Vuong to Alstom’s train assembly plant in Valenciennes (France).

As part of the visit, Alstom’s Managing Director for China and East Asia Olivier Loison and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the existing contract of Alstom in Hanoi, which was signed with the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) in 2017.

The agreement aims to foster further collaborative opportunities between both parties for new systems within the Vietnamese capital.

Alstom’s Managing Director for China and East Asia Olivier Loison and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung sign the memorandum of understanding. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

This will be an important milestone for the project as Alstom brings this train to fruition, Olivier Loison said. "We look forward to remaining a close and long-term partner of Vietnam, addressing its mobility needs and supporting it in its upcoming transport projects."

Alstom’s share covered the supply and integration of the metro system, including the 10 trains and the signaling system, as well as the delivery of power supply and depot equipment together with a partner, Olivier Loison added.

He stressed that the four-car Metropolis trains for the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station metro line will feature wide doors to facilitate passenger flow, dedicated space for passengers with reduced mobility.

Alstom Project Manager Sylvia Sannelli said the trains will be fully electric, with lightweight aluminum car bodies, adding that the trains were designed to resist severe weather conditions, especially monsoons.

She noted the train’s exterior and interior color scheme takes local Vietnamese inspiration and includes motifs such as dragon fruit and the rice paddy field – a design that was well-received by the people at a public consultation held in September 2018.

When completed, the first train will undergo a series of static and dynamic tests at the Valenciennes Railway Testing Centre during the month of November, according to the MoU.

Tests will be carried out on the trains’ automatic control system and on-board audio-visual equipment, this time on the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station metro line in the second half of 2020. Entry into service is expected in the first half of 2021.

For his part, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said Hanoi will speed up the project and train maintenance staff.

Chung expressed his wish that the first four trains will arrive in Hanoi by August 2020 and will conduct trial run in two months.

The trains cost VND7.7 trillion ($331 million), of which almost VND3 trillion ($129 million) will be spent on consulting, designing and assembling, while the rest is intended to cover the cost of rail tracks and train depots.

The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station route, the capital’s second metro line after the Cat Linh-Ha Dong route, runs 12.5 kilometers 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.

The followings are some image of first train for Hanoi’s second metro line: