Route No. 5 (Van Cao - Ngoc Khanh - Lang - Hoa Lac) will start construction at the end of 2025
On October 30, Mr. Tran Sy Thanh - Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee - Head of the Steering Committee for Railway Projects in the city chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee.
Reporting at the meeting, Head of the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board (MRB) Nguyen Cao Minh said that Hanoi aims to complete the construction of 96.8km by 2030; complete the investment and construction of 301km by 2035; continue to complete the investment and construction of 200.000km by 2045.
Up to now, route 3.1 (Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station section) has completed the 8.5km elevated section and MRB is constructing the underground section as planned, expected to complete the tunnel drilling in the first quarter of 2026 and switch to equipment installation.
For route 2.1 (Nam Thang Long - Tran Hung Dao section), the Hanoi People's Committee started the project on October 9, 2025; issued a decision approving the project plan, project location along the route and approved the overall adjustment project of the detailed planning of Xuan Dinh depot area, scale 1/500. MrB is urgently coordinating with the People's Committees of wards, communes and related units to speed up the site clearance progress.
Along with that, MRB is actively completing procedures to prepare for the investment project to build the Hanoi urban railway, line 5 (Van Cao - Ngoc Khanh - Lang - Hoa Lac) to start the project at the end of 2025 according to the direction of the City People's Committee.
"Other urban railway projects according to the plan are also being prepared for investment," said Mr. Nguyen Cao Minh.
Speaking at the meeting, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee - Deputy Head of the Steering Committee Duong Duc Tuan proposed to soon study and adjust the Overall Transport Planning of the Capital to standardize the technical infrastructure of the urban railway network.
In particular, it is necessary to pay special attention to developing underground space towards multiple goals; planning in detail each route, specifically determining which route has TOD (urban development associated with public transport), which TOD area is located to build a portfolio calling for investment.
The site clearance stage of projects should be implemented comprehensively and simultaneously, and if this stage is controlled, it will save a lot of investment costs. Along with that, it is necessary to study a variety of capital sources, investment types...
Hanoi strives to implement urban railway projects
Concluding the meeting, Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh emphasized that Hanoi is a special urban area, a national political and administrative center, and at the same time the core of the Capital Region.
In the development process, the transportation system, especially large-volume public transport, plays a key role in solving congestion, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time shaping urban space and improving the quality of life of people.
According to the Chairman of the City People's Committee, developing urban railways is not only a story of transportation, but is the "key" to sustainable urban development, a driving force to restructure urban space according to the TOD orientation. This is also a direction in line with the global trend, with the Net-Zero commitment by 2050 that Vietnam and Hanoi are striving to implement.
The Chairman of Hanoi emphasized that in recent years, the city has made efforts to implement urban railway projects. Urban railway line No. 3, Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station section has been exploited at an elevated level; other routes such as lines No. 2, No. 3.2, No. 5, No. 6... are being urgently prepared for investment.
However, the implementation process is still slow, facing many difficulties in capital mobilization, site clearance, as well as inter-sectoral coordination.
The establishment of the Steering Committee is a necessary step to strengthen unified leadership, synchronous coordination and remove obstacles in the implementation process.
"The Steering Committee will be an important focal point to help the city maximize resources, closely coordinate with ministries and branches, ensure that projects are implemented on schedule, on target and achieve high efficiency," Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh emphasized.
In acknowledging the opinions of the members of the Steering Committee, the Chairman of the City People's Committee said that the goal of developing the urban railway network is comprehensive, but the measures must be flexible and scientific.
Therefore, it is necessary to update, amend and complete the planning in 2026. Along with that, the determination and development of TOD areas must be associated with urban planning and embellishment; from planning to design, it must be very detailed.
Regarding the proposal to hire consulting units to develop planning, manage finances and implement projects, the Chairman of the City People's Committee noted that it is necessary to select reputable domestic and international experts with the most capacity and accuracy with Vietnam's conditions.
