A loan from the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) has been approved to support a $1 billion metro rail project in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The loan is worth $293 million.
The proposed new rail link will stretch from Hanoi’s main railway station in the Hoan Kiem district to Nhon, in the Tu Liem district, 12.5 km to the west.
The capital’s population is expected to balloon from 6 to 8 million people by 2025, meaning that a commuter rail service is a solid investment.
“If Hanoi doesn’t develop quality, high-volume public transportation systems the city will slowly grind to a standstill over the next decade,” said Robert Valkovic, ADB’s Principal Transport Specialist for Southeast Asia. “The metro is essential to Hanoi’s future.”
The rail line is scheduled to be completed in 2015. Initially, over 150,000 people a day are expected to use it, with the number rising to almost half a million a day by 2030.
The line, also funded by the Government of France and the European Investment Bank, is one of four priority metro lines planned for the capital’s metropolitan area. Hanoi’s Urban Transport Master Plan aims to get half the city using public transport by 2020.
ADB already approved a separate loan in support of a metro line in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year, bringing ADB’s total support for urban metro rail development in Vietnam to $833 million.
Hanoi is the departure point for many Vietnam Railways train routes in the country. The Reunification Express (pictured) runs from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City from Hanoi station, and stops at cities and provinces along the line. Trains also depart Hanoi frequently for Hai Phong and other northern cities.
