A delegation of Vietnam stands next to the first train of the line during their visit to the train manufacturing factory in France in October 26. — Photo courtesy of Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Once ready, the Nhon – Hanoi Station metro lineis expected to serve more than 23,000 passengers per hour from 2021.
The line is planned to have 10 France-manufactured trains with a capacity of950 passengers each.
The trains are expected to be operated at 35km per hour on average and 80km perhour maximum, the same speed as metros in Paris, Berlin and other Asian cities.
Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board said the train was designed to havea wide door, creating more space for passengers, especially passengers withrestricted mobility, to get on and off.
The colour of the trains is inspired by the colour of Vietnamese dragon fruitand yellow rice field that was warmly applauded by the public following asurvey in September 2018, the board said.
After the trains are completely assembled, they will undergo testing at theRailway Testing Centre in Valenciennes, France before being sent to Vietnam.
Next, the producer will be required to test the train’s automatic controlsystem and audio-visual equipment during the last six months of 2020 at theconstruction site of Nhon – Hanoi Station, the board said.
The board also said it was scheduled that Alstom, the French producer of the 10trains for the railway line in Hanoi, would send the first train to Vietnam inJune 2020, online newspaper Tien Phong (Vanguard) reported.
Then, three other trains would be dispatched to Vietnam in August, 2020.
Previously, the People’s Committee of Hanoi and France’s Alstom Company signeda memorandum of understanding about the introduction of the first train in theline on October 29.
The project, which kicked off in September 2010, was scheduled to be completedin September 2017 but has had problems with land clearance, so the cityPeople’s Committee extended the project deadline to 2022.
The 8.5km elevated section is planned to be finished in April 2021 and theremaining 4km underground line will be opened in December 2022.
So far, 99 percent of the elevated section has been finished, only 61 percentof the underground section is complete.
The project's investment of about 30.1 trillion VND (1.29 billion USD) comesfrom official development assistance of the French Development Agency and loansfrom the French Government.
The urban railway line No 3, connecting Nhon area and Hanoi Station, will runthrough Nam Tu Liem, Bac Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem districts./.
VNA
