According to a representative from the Ministry of Transport's Railway Project Management Board, all staff of the project’s contractor China Railway Sixth Group Co. and French consulting firm Apave-Certifier-Tricc consortium (ACT) are now present in Vietnam for the trial operation. The trial run will end on December 31.
Nine trains will be used for the pilot operation which will operate from 5 am to 11 pm every day.
Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro route will undergo a trial operation from December 12.
Besides the test, firefighting and rescue drills will also be conducted on the route.
Based on the results of the trial operation, the French consulting firm ACT will provide a safety certificate for the railway system.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport will approve the project and transfer it to the Hanoi government for management and operation.
The Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line is over 13 km long with 12 elevated stations, connecting Cat Linh Station in downtown Dong Da District to the Yen Nghia Station southwest of Ha Dong District.
It has 13 trains with each being able to transport 900 people.
The Hanoi Department of Transport has worked out a specific plan on revising the local bus network to link the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro route. This has been approved by the municipal People’s Committee.
The project was initially slated to become operational in 2017, but it was then delayed for many times. The project’s total investment capital was raised to VND18 trillion (USD783 million) from the VND8.7 trillion (USD378 million).
