The construction of the elevated section the Nhon – Hanoi Railway Station sky train, also known as Hanoi’s metro line 3, is being accelerated to put it into operation in April 2021, Kinh Te & Do Thi newspaper quoted a leader of the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Board (MRB) as saying.

According to the MRB, the packages for the elevated section are in due progress. Specifically, the CP01 package has been completed 100%, the CP02 package has 71.3% of the volume fulfilled, the CP05 package has reached 58.22%.

Workers conduct three shifts per day at the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station project. Photo: Ngoc Hai

Deputy Head of the MRB Le Trung Hieu affirmed that construction progress of the items related to electricity, information supplying and signaling will be ensured and the elevated section will become operational in April 2021.

"We will strive to bring the first trains to Vietnam in July to prepare for trial operation," Hieu said.

Under the plan, the elevated section of the metro line, which also include an underground section, will be put into operation first.

Immediately after Tet holiday, from February 3, construction of the Nhon – Hanoi Railway Station has resumed with three shifts per day, employing 836 people who are regularly present at the project.

In November, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) will start digging the underground section.

Construction of this project was started on October 10, 2010. According to the MRB, the project’s first 8.5 km of the elevated tracks is set to be inaugurated in April 2021, then 4 km of the underground section is scheduled for completition in December 2022 and the entire line is expected to become operational by that time.

The total cost of the project has been revised up to EUR1.176 billion. Of which, EUR178.7 million comes as ODA provided by the French Development Agency (AFD) and EUR355.1 million as loan from the French government.

It is one of several metro lines planned for the capital city to ease traffic congestion and reduce emissions.