According to the urban railway system construction investment project for the period 2024 - 2045, Hanoi City plans to complete about 12 urban railway lines (about 600km) with a total investment of nearly 50 billion USD. Of which, from now to 2030, 14.6 billion USD is needed to complete 96km; in the period 2031-2035, 22.5 billion USD is needed to complete 301km; in the period 2036-2045, 18.2 billion USD is needed to complete 200km. After nearly 20 years of implementation, there are only 2 urban railway lines . In reality, the construction of urban railway lines in the capital has encountered many difficulties. After nearly 20 years of implementation, there are currently 2 urban railway lines in operation in the city (Cat Linh - Ha Dong and the elevated section of the Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station line). Therefore, if construction continues as planned, many opinions say that it will be very difficult for Hanoi to complete the urban railway network as planned.

After 15 years of construction, in August 2024, Hanoi put the elevated Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station urban railway line into commercial operation. Photo: Phan Anh

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Duong Duc Tuan once pointed out that, including the investment process, the two railway lines Nhon - Hanoi Station and Cat Linh - Ha Dong will take 10-15 years to put into commercial operation. "Assuming there are 10 lines and following the method of building each line one by one, it will take us about 100 years to complete, which is too inconvenient," Mr. Tuan worried. Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh also pointed out that the Nhon - Hanoi Station railway line has been under construction for 15 years and is not yet completed (underground sections are being built). Therefore, according to Mr. Thanh, it is not advisable to build each line one by one as is currently the case, but it is necessary to build all railway lines as planned. Submitting a paper to the National Scientific Conference "New vision, new opportunities to build a civilized, modern, and globally connected Hanoi Capital", Mr. Khuat Viet Hung, Director of the Institute of Transport Strategy and Development (Ministry of Transport) said that Hanoi is one of the cities with the largest population density in the world with more than 8.5 million people living and working. With the process of urbanization and rapid population growth, Hanoi is under great pressure to develop the transport infrastructure system to reduce congestion and environmental pollution. Meanwhile, the implementation of investment in urban railway lines in Hanoi has not achieved the set goals, has not met the needs of development and traffic congestion reduction in the city in recent times. Therefore, according to Mr. Khuat Viet Hung, the need to build an urban railway network is becoming more urgent than ever to solve the above problems for the Capital. Historic opportunity to complete urban railway network To complete the urban railway network in Hanoi, according to Mr. Khuat Viet Hung, the city must prioritize investment resources for railways through increased revenue, cost savings and effective exploitation of land funds. In addition, the Central Government also needs to supplement the budget for Hanoi to invest in the construction of the urban railway system. The competent authorities need to allow Hanoi to base on the approved Master Plan of the Capital or the approved specialized technical infrastructure planning project as the basis for deciding on investment policies and deciding on investment in the construction of urban railway projects.

After nearly 20 years of construction, Hanoi now has only two urban railway lines in operation. Photo: Thach Thao

In addition, Hanoi also needs to plan urban development areas in the direction of public transport as the center (TOD) at a scale of 1/2000 to manage and reserve land for urban railway development and urban development in the TOD area. Regarding the development of the railway network according to the TOD model, Mr. Nguyen Cao Minh, Head of the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board, said that this is the key strategy to promote dynamic and sustainable urban development. This is an advanced urban planning model, making the most of the public transport system with a large number of users. According to Mr. Nguyen Cao Minh, Hanoi is facing a historic opportunity to implement TOD in its long-term urban development strategy. This policy not only helps optimize land use, but also reduces traffic congestion, reduces emissions and improves the quality of public spaces. This is also the key to increasing land value and creating conditions for the development of new economic centers. “This will not only help the city make effective use of large investments in public transport infrastructure such as urban railways, but also improve the existing housing supply, while developing new housing and economic centers around strategic traffic junctions,” said Nguyen Cao Minh.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/cong-thuc-lam-600km-metro-o-ha-noi-2331383.html