The Hanoi Metro (, , ) is a rapid transit system in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Owned by Hanoi's People Committee and operated by Hanoi Metro Company (HMC), it is the first operational rapid transit system in Vietnam. The system includes elevated and underground sections. The first line, Line 2A, opened to service on 6 November 2021. The first section of the second line Line 3 opened on 8 August 2024.
The system is projected to have 18 lines with a total length of by 2045. Upon opening, daily ridership was at 12,000.
History
Pre-planning As the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi's population is growing rapidly. As of 2010 (the year when construction started on the first line), Hanoi's population was around 6,910,000. Hoàn Kiếm District and Ba Đình District are the districts with the highest population density. The government expects the population of Hanoi to increase up to 8,000,000 by 2030. The growing population would affect the city's operation and development. To solve this issue, the Vietnamese government and the Hanoi People's Committee proposed to build an urban rail transit system, which was first proposed in the late 1990s.
In 1998, the Vietnamese government revised and agreed the “Hanoi Capital to 2020 Master Plan” which suggested that Hanoi prioritise the building of a rail transit system, with a target to build 5 lines. The "Overall Plan for the Development of Vietnam's Railway Transportation Industry to 2020", released in 2002, and the "2005-2010 Economic and Social Development Plan for 2006-2010", released in 2006, both suggested the same and aimed to finish the metro system by 2010.
Survey and approval The start of construction was delayed continually as the government first required consultant companies from China, France and Japan, such as SYSTRA and Japan International Cooperation Agency, to finish feasibility studies which ran from 2004 to 2007. These three companies suggested the Hanoi government build a network consisting of 6 lines. In 2008, the Vietnamese government approved the construction of the suggested lines, which they divided into several phases.
Construction and opening The pilot line of Hanoi Metro is Line 3. It began construction in 2009 with a projected completion date of 2015. The line was built by multiple companies, with train systems provided by Alstom. The railway line was built by South Korean firm Daelim Industrial and other contractors. The project was repeatedly delayed, with the completion date rescheduled to 2027. The elevated section of the line opened to the public on 8 August 2024, while the work on the underground section continued. Despite being the pilot line, Line 3 became the second operational Hanoi metro line, after Line 2A, due to the 9-year delay.
The second planned line, Line 2A, began construction in October 2011. The line was constructed by China Railway Engineering Corporation. The bulk of the construction was completed by the fourth quarter of 2018. Operational tests were conducted at the end of 2018 and again in 2019. After delays, Line 2A opened to the public on 6 November 2021, becoming the first operational metro line in Hanoi and Vietnam.
Network According to the Prime Minister's decision approving the transport development of Hanoi by 2030 and vision to 2050 (519/QD-TTg dated 31 March 2016), the Hanoi Metro system will consist of 8 lines, including elevated and underground sections. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) and the Hanoi People's Committee (HPC) will both be investors in the project. Phase 1 includes Line 2A and Line 3, Line 2A and Line 3 (elevated section) are in service, and Line 3 (underground section) is currently under construction.
+ Operational Line Route Length Stations Depots Operational date Cat Linh ↔ Yen Nghia 12 Yên Nghĩa 6 November 2021Route map ↔ 8 Nhổn 8 August 2024
+ Under construction Line Route Length Stations Depots Operational dateNam Thăng Long ↔ Trần Hưng Đạo10Xuân Đỉnh2029 ↔ Ha Noi (planned) 414 (planned) Nhổn 2027Văn Cao ↔ Hòa Lạc20Sơn Đồng Hòa Lạc2030
Line 2A: Cat Linh - Ha Dong
The line, consisting of 12 stations (all elevated), and connecting the districts Dong Da, Thanh Xuan and Ha Dong, will be the first operational line in the metro system. This line is constructed using Official Development Assistance (ODA) from China with a total investment of US$868 million. The China Railway Sixth Group is the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor for the project, and the Ministry of Transport (Vietnam) is an investor.
The construction was started on 10 October 2011 and was initially targeted to begin operations in 2016. In 2016, it was announced that the completion date was to be pushed back to early 2018. However, due to funding and land acquisition issues, construction wasn't completed until September 2018. Following completion, the pilot run and testing was conducted from September to December 2018. Line 2A was scheduled to commence operations in February 2019, before the holidays of Lunar New Year, but was postponed for the sixth time as some station construction works remained incomplete. Transport Minister Nguyen Van The had hopes that operations would begin in April 2019.
On 30 April 2019, a representative from the Railway Project Management Board informed the press that the line was not yet operational, the reason stated being that the system had not yet been issued with a safety certificate and it had not been accepted by the State Acceptance Council. By the deadline of 30 April 2019, the General Chinese Contractor had not completed some stations, depot areas, escalator roofs for stations, drainage connections for Ring Road 3 Station, landscaping, trees, electricity and ticketing systems.
After multiple delays, the trial run was restarted on 28 October 2019, to last for 20 days. Beginning in December 2020, Line 2A underwent a full-scale test run in order to check its safety before approval for commercial service. Line 2A opened to the public on 6 November 2021.
Line 3: Nhon - Hanoi Station Section
The Hanoi Metro Rail System Project (Line 3: Nhon - Hanoi Station section) is in line with the Prime Minister's decision approving the transport development of Hanoi by 2030 and vision to 2050 (519/QD-TTg dated 31 March 2016). The project has the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board, French government, Asian Development Bank, and European Investment Bank as the investors, and will be built in two phases. Phase 1 is long in total and consists of 12 stations, with elevated and underground, and will serve residents from districts such as Nam Tu Liem, Bac Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da, and Hoan Kiem.
Construction for Line 3 began in 2010 and was initially targeted to commence service in 2018. However, in 2017, it was announced that the construction would not be complete until 2021, and that the operation start was deferred to 2022. In July 2018, the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) announced that only 43% of the work for Line 3 had been completed, and the launch date of elevated section would most likely be delayed until early 2023. However, in September 2022, the authorities requested to extend the deadline to 2025, and increase the budget by a further VND1.9 trillion ($80.77m USD). The line was further delayed in September 2022 when the authorities announced that they expected the line to fully open in 2027.
Future plans
Planning and future lines Line Alternate name Route Length (km) Status Number of stations Depots Long Biên Line Yên Viên ↔ Ngọc Hồi pending budget approval(opens in 2030) 16 Yên ViênNgọc Hồi Dương Xá ↔ Gia Lâm initial planning 7 Dương Xá Hoàn Kiếm Line Noi Bai International Airport ↔ Nam Thăng Long pending budget approval Xuân ĐỉnhPhủ Lỗ Trần Hưng Đạo ↔ pending budget approval 6 ↔ Hoàng Quốc Việt initial planning Cát Linh Line ↔ Xuân Mai ... initial planning Văn Miếu Line Trôi ↔ initial planning ↔ Yên Sở (Hoàng Mai) pending budget approval 7 Yên Sở Thăng Long Line (circular line) Mê Linh ↔ Liên Hà initial planning 41 Liên HàĐại Mạch Nội Bài Line Noi Bai Airport ↔ Ngọc Hồi research planning 29 Ngọc HồiKim Mỗ Hà Đông Line Mê Linh ↔ Dương Nội initial planning 23 Mê Linh Mỹ Đình Line Sơn Đồng ↔ Mai Dịch ↔ Dương Xá pending budget approval 26 Sơn ĐồngCổ Bì Sơn Tây Line Sơn Tây ↔ Hoà Lạc ↔ Xuân Mai initial planning Sơn TâyXuân Mai Liên Hà ↔ Tân Lập ↔ An Khánh initial planning Giáp Bát ↔ Thanh Liệt ↔ Phú LươngMai Dịch ↔ Mỹ Đình ↔ Văn Mỗ ↔ Phúc La initial planning Nam Hồng ↔ Mê Linh ↔ Đại Thịnh initial planning (Source: :vi:Đường sắt đô thị Hà Nội except for some numbers here)
Progress
Line 1 (Long Biên Line): Ngọc Hồi - Gia Lâm (Phase 1) (Yên Viên - Ngọc Hồi)
The Ngọc Hồi - Gia Lâm section of Metro Line 1 is long and elevated (including elevated, km bridge and on surface). The line has the Railway Project Management Unit (RPMU) as its investor and Ministry of Transport as project owner. Its budget is from Japanese ODA. Currently it is in the detailed design phase. Furthermore, Ministry of Transportation has reported to National Assembly that the ministry has transferred the railway section from Yên Viên to Ngọc Hồi including Hà Nội railway station and Giáp Bát railway station to Hanoi People's Committee to implement Hanoi urban railway line (AKA Long Biên line) to feed the future North-South High Speed train since there will be a construction of the Northern terminus (AKA the Hà Nội High Speed train station which will be functioned as the new Hà Nội railway station) of North-South High Speed train at Ngọc Hồi on 151 hectares of land. The line will be completed in 3 phases: Phase 1: Ngọc Hồi - Hà Nội railway station - Gia Lâm () Phase 2: Gia Lâm - Yên Viên (13.3 km) Phase 3: Gia Lâm - Dương Xá (10 km) The first 2 phases of Line 1 will have 16 stations: Yên Viên, Cầu Đuống, Đức Giang, Gia Lâm, Long Biên North, Long Biên South, Phùng Hưng, , Thống Nhất Park, Bạch Mai, Phương Liệt, Giáp Bát, Hoàng Liệt, Văn Điển, Vĩnh Quỳnh, Ngọc Hồi
Line 2 (Hoan Kiem Line): Nam Thăng Long - Trần Hưng Đạo (Phase 1) (Noi Bai Airport - Nam Thăng Long - Trần Hưng Đạo - Thuong Dinh - Hoàng Quốc Việt)
This section is 42 km in length, connecting Noi Bai Airport with the city center. There will be 32 stations and 2 depots. The 4 phases of the project are: Phase 1: Nam Thăng Long - Trần Hưng Đạo: 11.5 km long, of which 8.9 km are underground and 2.6 km are elevated. It consists of 10 stations including 7 underground, 3 elevated and 1 depot. The project owner is Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board. The project will be funded by Japanese ODA. At present cost estimate is pending to be approved.This phase will have 10 stations: Nam Thăng Long, Ngoại Giao Đoàn, Tây Hồ Tây, Bưởi, Quần Ngựa, Bách Thảo, Hồ Tây, Hàng Đậu, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Trần Hưng Đạo Phase 2: Trần Hưng Đạo - Thuong Dinh: 5.9 km long, fully underground and now is at feasibility study phase.This phase will have 6 other stations after Trần Hưng Đạo: Cầu Dền, Bách Khoa, Kim Liên, Chùa Bộc, Ngã Tư Sở, . Phase 3: Thuong Dinh - Ring road 2.5 - Hoàng Quốc Việt Phase 4: Nội Bài Airport - Nam Thang Long: 12.5 km long
Line 4 (Thang Long Line): Me Linh - Dong Anh - Hoang Mai - Ring road 2.5 - Co Nhue - Lien Ha
Line 4 is the longest out of 8 lines, with 41 stations and 2 depots. It will work as a loop line that takes into account connections with lines 1, 2A, 3, 5, 6 and 7.
Line 5 (Kim Ma Line): South West Lake - Hoa Lac - Ba Vi (Văn Cao - Hòa Lạc)
In 2012, the project was expected to start in 2017 but the commencement date has now been postponed. It will be 38.4 km long with 17 stations and 2 depots. Right now feasibility study is carried out by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Its project owner is the Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board. 2 phases are: Phase 1: South West Lake - An Khanh: 14.1 km with 10 stations Phase 2: An Khanh - Ba Vi: 24.1 km with 7 stations