Final train for Hanoi's second metro route arrives in Vietnam

A ship carrying the 10th train, the last of the second metro route, docked at Hai Phong Port on Thursday and is on its way to the Nhon depot area in Hanoi, a representative of Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) said Saturday.

As of August, the route was 74 percent complete, including 90 percent of its elevated section.

The metro route is scheduled to begin commercial operation of its 8.5-kilometer elevated tracks in the second half of this year. However, MRB said the target could be missed due to the impacts of the Covid pandemic.

The Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station route consists of 10 trains with four cars each, manufactured by French company Alstom.

Each train, which is 80 meters long and has a designed speed of 80 kph and a commercial speed of 35 kph, can carry 944 to 1,124 people. Its low floor makes it quite convenient for passengers to get on and off, especially for those with luggage or having to move on wheelchairs. There are priority areas for people with disabilities.

The train is colored green, red pink and white with an emblem of Khue Van Cac, the Constellation of Literature pavilion inside the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, Vietnam’s first national university. In 2012, this pavilion was named an official symbol of the capital.

The route will run 12.5 kilometers from Nhon in the western district of Nam Tu Liem, via Kim Ma Street to the downtown Hanoi Railway Station. It will run 8.5 kilometers on elevated tracks and the remaining four kilometers underground. The underground section could be ready in 2023.