Construction work on Cat Linh – Ha Dong metro line project, the first of its kind in Hanoi, has been completed, pending only safety check prior to commercial operation, VnExpress quoted its project director as saying.

Tang Hong, director of the project, said on December 19 that the construction of the railway, installment of equipment, and training of staff have been completed and the contractor has notified the Ministry of Transport accordingly. "The general contractor has sent the entire dossiers to the investor," he said.

A train runs on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in Hanoi, with the average speed of 35km/h. Photo: Giang Huy

Hong, who works for China Railway Sixth Group - the EPC contractor, said the scheduled 20-day-trial in November lasted only five days before it was suspended after the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) under the Ministry of Transport requested the contractor to finish some procedures first. 

"The five-day trial showed that all Vietnamese staff were able of independently operating the line. The trial will resume with approval from MRB," Hong added.

A representative of MRB confirmed that construction of the railway project is basically finished and installment has been approximately in 97% complete, except for some items that are not essential for the operation of the metro.

The Chinese general contractor is working to comply with the criteria so as to go on with the trial run, including ensuring the capacity of staff to handle emergencies, the representative added.

The project still depends on the safety evaluation from the French consultancy Apave-Certifier-Tricc (ACT) consortium before it can be handed over to the Ministry of Transport. The Hanoi People's Committee will take over the whole project after that for commercial run.

Hong said he wanted accelerate the process, as the project is bleeding VND50 billion (US$2.16 million) a month on salaries of over 200 Chinese and Vietnamese staff, as well as VND100 million (US$4,300) a day on electricity.

Cat Linh – Ha Dong railway is one of the key public transport projects in Hanoi. Since September 2018, this project has tested all 13 trains, with the average speed of 35 kilometers per hour.

The railway is 13.5 kilometers long from Cat Linh Station in downtown Dong Da district to Yen Nghia Station in the southwestern Ha Dong district and uses standard-gauge rail track (1.435mm).

The designed speed of the track reaches 80km/h and with the frequency of two minutes.