The first train of Hanoi’s second metro line, Nhon-Hanoi Station project, officially rolled on the track on a trial basis on January 22, preparing to test the interlock.

After three months stored at Nhon Depot, the first train of the route is on trial run on five kilometers from stations S1 and S5 in Nam Tu Liem district.

Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) said the trial run lasted an hour with train’s average speed of below 10 kilometers per hour. The train stopped at every station and was technically checked.

The train is operated at an idle and the driver is Mustapha Mdjkoune, an experienced operator from Alstom, according to the MRB.

Nhon-Hanoi Station metro route has a total of ten trains valued at EUR110 million. The second train is expected to arrive at Haiphong Port by late this month.

Among the ten trains ordered, four would be included in the first batch to be delivered from France, MRB confirmed, adding that each would have four wagons with a total length of 78.27 meters, 94 seats and a capacity of almost 950 passengers. The train maximum designed speed is 80 kilometers per hour.

The Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line, with a cost of VND33 trillion (US$1.42 billion) mainly from the France's official development assistance, will run 12.5 kilometers from Nhon in western Nam Tu Liem district to the city's downtown railway station.

Works on the metro line started in September 2010 and so far eight elevated kilometers of the project have mostly been finished. It is expected to enter operation by the end of 2021, while the underground section to be opened at the end of 2022.

The followings are photos showing first train of Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line, which officially rolled on the track on a trial basis:

On January 23, many people visited the urban train of the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station line, which receives visitors at the S1 station, opposite to Hanoi University of Industry in Bac Tu Liem district in the West of Hanoi: