There is a new breakthrough scenario to complete the set goal.

Could you tell us what practical benefits the urban railway has brought to Hanoi?

Hanoi's urban railway has made great strides, especially after the Cat Linh - Ha Dong line 2A came into operation. This urban railway line has brought us many successes.

We have proven in practice the superiority of urban railways over other modes of transport. Currently, every working day, about 37,000 passengers use urban railways, of which 80% travel during rush hour, that is, those who travel regularly with monthly tickets. Traffic congestion on the route has decreased significantly.

We have built a team from state management to project staff, and especially the professional urban railway operation team. To train a train driver in China costs 505 million VND, but in Vietnam it only costs 187 million VND while still ensuring professional qualifications and quality. In fact, we have supported human resource training for both the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien Metro Line (Ho Chi Minh City) and Line 3 Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station.

If only 50% of that is put into service production, we can create social labor productivity of nearly 30 billion VND and reduce about 100 tons of toxic emissions.

Some say it will take Hanoi hundreds of years to build the entire urban railway network. Do you think so?

I think that is a one-sided opinion, without basis. For example, Shenzhen City (China) only put the first urban railway line into operation in 2004, but by 2023, after 19 years, they have 16 lines with 518km of urban railway. That shows that it is impossible to calculate the construction and development roadmap of urban railways in a purely mathematical way.

It is true that over the past years, Hanoi has encountered many difficulties in investing and building urban railways. However, recently, especially since the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway line No. 2A came into operation with high efficiency, the city has clearly recognized the value and role of urban railways and is focusing all its efforts on it.

Specifically, what is the breakthrough, sir?

The first is a breakthrough in policy mechanisms. This needs to be done from the National Assembly, the Government to the City government. We must create a new, specific legal corridor to fundamentally resolve the current problems of urban railways.

Second, regarding the capital mobilization channel, this issue is extremely important and requires early policy. Specifically, we must identify TOD development, considering it the main resource for urban railway investment.

Furthermore, when borrowing ODA from any country, we will have to use the technology and contractors of that country, leading to many problems later on, especially the difference in technology leading to difficulty in connecting and integrating with each other in the future.

Third, about TOD, first of all, we must have a common awareness of TOD, classify areas that are capable of building and developing TOD models. For urban railway lines that pass through densely populated areas, we can only utilize the area around the stations for services and commerce. For areas that have not yet or are being urbanized, TOD can be done and should be done first.

Fourthly, it is about the urban railway management model from the project implementation to exploitation and operation. Countries around the world are successful in urban railway management because they integrate the investment unit and the operation unit. As we are now, construction investment is one unit; management and operation are another unit. Similar to one person asking for a wife, one person getting married, later on many problems will arise, especially in connecting the whole system together because each project uses a different technology.

How has Hanoi changed in the field of urban railways over the years?

Hanoi has had clear, very positive changes from the way of thinking to the way of doing urban railways compared to before the first metro line came into operation. That change spread from the city's leaders to the people.

Regarding the work related to urban railways, the leaders of Hanoi City have been very close and concerned. Recently, the leaders of the City have directly chaired and organized many seminars to collect opinions from experts and scientists to find solutions to promote the development of urban railways. The Law on the Capital is also being drafted and amended to create maximum convenience for urban railways.

On the people's side, at first there were still many doubts about the urban railway, not knowing whether it would be successful or not. There was even a time when public opinion said that the Cat Linh - Ha Dong train had few passengers. But now everyone has realized that the urban railway is very superior, civilized and suitable for Hanoi's urban traffic. People have accepted to walk 1.5 - 2km to access the urban railway, it is more civilized when taking the train in particular and using public transport in general.

It can be said that Hanoi is focusing all resources on urban railways, this is a very important condition for the city to implement a breakthrough scenario, aiming to build an additional 200km of urban railways by 2035, and further to complete the capital's urban railway network according to the plan.

Thank you very much!

10:22 April 20, 2024

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/duong-sat-do-thi-co-kich-ban-dot-pha-moi-hoan-thanh-muc-tieu-de-ra.html