Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung had a working session with the Ministry of Transport, the Hanoi government and other agencies on October 1, reported the local media.
Earlier the same day, Dung inspected a number of key traffic projects in the city. Dung and other officials were on a 10-kilometer trial tour between Cat Linh and Van Quan stations on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban rail line.
Dung noted that the execution of the project had been far slower than planned. Therefore, he asked the Ministry of Transport and the project’s Chinese contractor, China Railway Sixth Group Co., Ltd, to speed up progress.
“The project needs to be in (commercial) operation as soon as possible in 2019,” he said.
He added, “The first requirement is ensure absolute safety in its operation.” He asked Hanoi Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung and Minister of Transport The to work with the project’s consulting contractor to remove related obstacles quickly so that the system safety certification for the line could be issued.
Hanoi Chairman Chung told the deputy prime minister that the project was initially scheduled for commercial operation in September 2017. As a result, operational management had been handed over to the city government.
Chung remarked that the local authorities had completed procedures to take loans for the project. Since 2018, the city government has paid nearly VND300 billion in annual interest.
He added that the municipal government has so far recruited nearly 1,000 workers for the metro line. Many people have been trained, but for the past two years, they have received salaries without having to do their jobs due to the project’s operational delays.
“A number of workers have quit their jobs, even though they have completed their training sessions,” he noted.
Since September 2018, the 13-car railway has been on trial runs to check on technical issues, reported the transport minister.
“We feel that too much time has lapsed. The project is 99% complete, but a number of issues should be addressed before commercial operations begin,” he said.
He acknowledged that officials from various agencies are working together to ensure safety before the commercial run. A number of traffic signs will be put up in case of problems with the automated driving systems, allowing drivers to safely take over driving the trains.
The State Council for the Pre-Acceptance Test for Construction Work and an independent group of French consultants, among other agencies, are assessing the final stage of the railway project to ensure safety protocols are met before it goes live.
If system safety is not certified, the railway will not be officially opened, according to the minister.
The ministry has urged the central Government to adjust the number of systems and policies related to the project, he confirmed.
The capital city’s first metro line, which runs from Cat Linh Station in downtown Dong Da District to the Yen Nghia Station southwest of Ha Dong District, saw its investment requirements balloon from the original estimated VND8.7 trillion (US$552.8 million) to a whopping VND18 trillion (US$868 million), with VND13.8 trillion, or US$670 million, in loans from China.
Work on the elevated railway started in October 2011 and was initially scheduled for completion in 2013. However, several hurdles, including loan disbursement issues with China that were only resolved in December 2017, stalled it for years.
The elevated railway allows for a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour, and the average speed of operation is 35 kilometers per hour, with trains running every few minutes.
