The Ministry of Transport, in co-ordination with the administration of Hanoi, held an inauguration ceremony of Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line on January 13 two months on from putting the line into commercial operation.
The urban metro line, the first of its kind in Vietnam, runs more than 13km in length at a total cost of approximately VND18 trillion (equivalent to US$868 million) funded by Chinese ODA.
A total of 13 trains have been imported for the project, Each four-carriage train, with a design capacity of serving over 900 passengers at peak hours, can travel at a maximum speed of 80km per hour.
The railway starts at the Cat Linh Station in Ba Dinh district and eventually ends at the Yen Nghia Station in Ha Dong district.
The project was designed to deal with persistent traffic congestion which impacts the western part of the capital, and at the same time to spur socio-economic development in the city, according to the Ministry of Transport.
The Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project was first handed over to the Hanoi City government and officially began commercial operation on November 6 after a 10-year construction.
No incidents have been reported since its commercial operation. January 13 marked the date that the elevated line welcomed its millionth passenger.