More than 80 per cent of respondents surveyed about the proposed train design for the city’s metro line 3 rated the plans highly and over 90 per cent of them said they would love to try the new means of transport when the metro line is officially operational. (Photo courtesy of Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - More than 80 percentof respondents surveyed about the proposed train design for the city’s metroline 3 rated the plans highly and over 90 percent of them said they would loveto try the new means of transport when the metro line is officiallyoperational.
The details were unveiled by Nguyen Cao Minh,head of the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB), at a pressconference in Hanoi on September 28.
“With a large majority of respondents givinghigh credit to the train design selected, we believe that there will be astrong support from local residents for the metro line No 3 when it isofficially put into operation”, Minh said.
The survey was conducted by the MRB fromSeptember 5-18 to gather opinions on the exterior and interior design of metroline No 3, which is being developed by the French firm Alstom.
Key factors for the public are punctuality,congestion-free, comfortable seats for elderly and people with disabilities,and a modern interior design as well as a good mix of colours, according to thesurvey.
More than 1,000 people were randomly selected toparticipate in face-to-face interviews. Most respondents are those living andworking close to the planned eight elevated rail stations of metro line 3, Nhon-HanoiStation section, including school and college students, office workers and theelderly and equally distributed by gender.
Aside from face-to-face surveys, the MRB alsocollected ideas from the public via online publications and the social mediapage of Hanoi metro. Results from these surveys showed that most peoplesurveyed appreciated the design for its aesthetics, dynamism and comfort.
Doan Viet Dung, country director of French firmAlstom, said the colours of the trains are inspired by rice field and dragonfruits – the typical agricultural products of Vietnam.
Each train can carry up to 950 people and emitthe lowest amount of carbon dioxide. The low floor makes it easier forpassengers to board and get off the trains, especially those carrying handluggage and people on wheel chairs.
With such social and environmental benefits, themetro line No 3 was expected to attract a lot of passengers, he said, addingthat once the design is officially approved by Hanoi People’s Committee, Alstomwill start production.
The metro line No 3, connecting Nhon and HanoiStation, will span 12.5km, running through six districts: Nam Tu Liem, Bac TuLiem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem. It consists of 12 stationsincluding eight elevated and four underground.
According to the MRB, the Nhon – Hanoi Station section will be incommercial operation on the elevated 8-km route by early 2021, departing fromNhon and travelling to S8 Station (Cau Giay). The remaining 4.5-km undergroundsection will be put into operation by the end of 2022.
The total investment for the project is nearly 36trillion VND (1.5 billion USD).-VNS/VNA
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