Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on October 1 demanded the generalcontractor to speed up the progress and complete all procedures in order to putthe long-delayed Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway line into operation this year.
Dung madethe request while inspecting three key infrastructure projects of Hanoiincluding the Mai Dich-Thang Long Bridge section on the city’s Belt Road No 3and urban railway lines No 2A Cat Linh-Ha Dong and No 3 Nhon-Hanoi TrainStation.
TheMinistry of Transport and the railway’s general contractor must hasten work inorder to start operating the project as soon as possible in 2019, he said.
However,the Deputy PM also stressed that the top priority is to secure safety duringoperation and the safety certificate must be approved before running the train.
Constructionon the over 20 trillion VND (886 million USD) Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railwaystarted in 2011 and was initially expected to be completed in 2015. Theconstruction deadline was later set at 2018 with trial runs to be ended byMarch 31 this year.
Sixmonths after the trial period, however, an exact date on when Hanoians canfinally board the train remains up in the air./.
Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro ticket rates proposed
The Hanoi People’s Committee on March 3 proposed subsidised ticket rates on its first metro project – the Cat Linh-Ha Dong elevated railway – when the metro opens for commercial operation next month.