Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro, during a trial run in late 2020. (Photo: VNA)The council members have reportedly spent time in the field inspecting thepreparatory works for real-life operations as well as trial runs at the CatLinh-Ha Dong project, the first metro in Hanoi financed mostly by China’s ODA,but one that have been besotted by cost overruns, behind-schedule issues, andchallenges in third-party acceptance.
They have also inspected the depots, the operations control centre of theproject, different function rooms of some stations, the equipment at stations,and readiness issues (instructions for passengers, the ticketing system, andthe signalling system).
All nine members of the council have voted in favour of the conditionalacceptance results from the project’s owner – the Ministry of Transport – toallow the project to start the initial phase of operations.
Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Minister of Construction, on behalf of the council, notedthat the transport ministry must coordinate with the Hanoi People’s Committeeand related agencies to inspect and do quality control on the entire system andother related components before the project is run.
The ministry is also asked to review the preparation of personnel andon-the-ground conditions to ensure the actual operation and the plans to handlesituations that may arise during runs, especially ones related to findings bythe system safety assessment consultant (the France-basedApave-Certifer-Tricc).
During the operation, the Hanoi Railway One-Member Co Ltd (Metro Hanoi) will beoperating the project in accordance with the approved operating procedures andapproved rail planning, improve the proficiency of operators, providesufficient instructions and guidance for the public in the initial stage ofoperations, given the new transport method, to ensure the effectiveness and safetyof the project.
Metro Hanoi said it is readying conditions to receive the project and startcommercial operations. The company has also reported to the Hanoi authoritieson the planning of the initial phase.
The acceptance of the project marks a new milestone in the project, Deputy TransportMinister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said.
A day ticket is set to be 30,000 VND for a person, with a monthly pass havingdifferent prices for each group of passengers - 200,000 VND for normalpassengers, 100,000 VND for students and workers at industrial zones, and 140,000VND for one person in 'bulk' passes bought by offices and companies outside ofindustrial zones.
The elderly, the disabled, children under six years old, poor households, andpeople with merits to the revolution don't have to pay for tickets.
The metro will be free of charge for 15 initial days, before commercialoperations officially commenced.
In a meeting held earlier last week, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh hasasked the transport ministry to hand over the project to Hanoi before November10, 2021./.
VNA
