Cat Linh-Hadong elevated urban railway first test run

The first train started the test at Yen Nghia Station

A great crowd gathered at 5.50 AM today at Yen Nghia Depot (Hadong District) to see the trains begin their test runs across the Cat Linh-Hadong route.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong discussing with the main contractor and the project management unit before the test run

At 6.30 AM, the first train left Yen Nghia depot, with the Ministry of Transport’s supervisor delegation, the railway project management unit, and the Chinese main contractor, as well as reporters on board.

Each train has four carriages and four doors on each side

When the first train arrived at Nguyen Trai Street, the next one was ordered to start. Vu Hong Phuong, deputy director of the Railway Project Management Unit said that the trains will run every ten minutes. The train will turn back to Yen Nghia when it arrives to the final destination at Cat Linh.

Hoang Cau Lake from the elevated railway

The five trains were running for two hours this morning. The main contractor will continue completing the remaining tasks before officially launching and handing the route over to Hanoi for commercial operation. The average speed of the trains is 32km per hour.

According to Hanoi’s general master plan by 2030 with vision to 2050 approved by the prime minister in Decision No. 519/QD-TTg dated March 31, 2016, Hanoi’s metro network will have eight routes running on elevated runways and underground, with the total length of 318km.

Of these, the Cat Linh-Hadong route developed by the Ministry of Transport started construction in October 2011 and has a length of 13.1km. This route (named 2A) is expected to be launched officially in the end of this year, followed by Route 3 (Nhon-Hanoi Station), Route 1 (Ngoc Hoi-Yen Vien), and Route 2 (South Thang Long-Tran Hung Dao-Thuong Dinh).

The green trains will start commercial operation by the end of the year

The total initial investment of Route 2A was $552.86 million (in 2008), including $133.86 million from the Vietnamese government and $419 million borrowed from China. However, this has been adjusted $868 million, with loans from China increasing by around $250 million to $669 million.

Route 2A will have 13 trains with four carriages each. The length of a train is 79m, with a height of 3.8m and width of 2.8m. The trains will be painted green and sport the image of Khue Van Cac, a symbol of Hanoi.

Once completed, the trains will transport up to 2,110 passengers across 12 stations across the route. The stations are Cat Linh, La Thanh, Thai Ha, Lang, Thuong Dinh, Ring Road 3, Phung Khoang, Van Quan, Hadong, La Khe, Van Khe, and Yen Nghia.