Construction of Hanoi’s fifth metro line to kick off in 2025

Hanoi’s metro line No. 5, connecting Van Cao street in Ba Dinh district to the Hoa Lac area in Thach That district, is expected to break ground this year, with a total investment of over VND65 trillion ($2.55 billion).

Speaking at a conference between the government and localities on Friday, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh said the line is designed as a double-track railway with a 1,435 mm gauge. It is nearly 39 km in length, with 6.5 km underground, 2 km elevated, and nearly 30 km at ground level.

The route will pass through 21 stations, including six underground stations namely Quan Ngua, Kim Ma, Ring Road 1, Ring Road 2, Hoang Dao Thuy, and Ring Road 3; one elevated station in Tay Mo, and 14 ground stations (Le Duc Tho, Me Tri, An Khanh 1, An Khanh 2, Song Phuong, Sai Son, Quoc Oai, Ngoc My, Dong But, Dong Truc, Dong Bai, Tien Xuan, Trai Moi, and Thach Binh).

The project will have two depots for train collection, maintenance, and other technical operations. The first, located in Son Dong commune, Hoai Duc district, covers about 18 hectares, while the second, in Yen Binh commune, Thach That district, spans around 6.9 hectares. The number of trains needed for the project will be 26 by 2025, 37 by 2035, and 38 by 2050.

The Van Cao-Hoa Lac metro line will run through Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Cau Giay, Nam Tu Liem, and Hoai Duc, Quoc Oai, and Thach That districts. Once completed, it will connect and transit passengers to urban rail lines No. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8, enabling quick and convenient travel from the suburbs to the city center.

Currently, Hanoi already has two metro lines in operation: The 13 km Cat Linh-Yen Nghia and the phase-one 8.5 km Nhon-Hanoi station, which began service in November 2021 and August 2024, respectively. The city aims to complete 97 km of metro lines by 2030 and 200 km by 2045.

It also targets 10 metro lines totaling over 410 km by 2050, and 25 routes with a total length of 617 km by 2065.

The 10 urban railways by 2050 include Ngoc Hoi-Yen Vien (over 38 km); Nam Thang Long-Soc Son (over 47 km); extended Cat Linh-Ha Dong to Xuan Mai (33 km); extended Nhon-Hanoi Station to Son Tay (57 km); Me Linh-Sai Dong-Lien Ha (54 km); Van Cao-Hoa Lac (39 km); Noi Bai-Ngoc Hoi (43 km); Ha Dong-Me Linh (28 km); Son Dong-Mai Dich-Duong Xa (39 km); and Son Tay-Hoa Lac-Xuan Mai (32 km).

The five additional lines for the period to 2065 are Ngoc Hoi-Southern Airport (29 km); Me Linh-Co Loa-Duong Xa (48 km); Cat Linh-Lang Ha-Le Van Luong-Yen Nghia (12 km); Ring Road 2-Southern Axis-Southern Airport (42 km); and Xuan Mai-Phu Xuyen (45 km).