Six new underground railway lines planned for Hanoi

Hanoi plans to build six more subterranean urban railway lines, with a total length of 86.5 kilometers and an average depth of roughly 20 meters.

They include lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8, the Hanoi Department of Planning and Architecture stated at an event to announce a master plan for underground construction space in Hanoi’s central urban area until 2030, with a vision to 2030.

The master plan was presented one week after the central government instructed Hanoi and other localities to reduce the number of motorcycles by 2030.

Nguyen Duc Nghia, Vice Director of the department, said an underground transportation system will be a critical component of the master plan.

The city also envisions 78 underground public parking spaces, with a total floor area of over 104 hectares, mostly in the four central districts of Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Dong Da, and Hai Ba Trung.

The parking lots are set to have three to five storeys, with service and commerce functions.

In the inner city, the plan specifies 39 subterranean public space areas with a total size of around 954 hectares. Underground public works will serve a variety of uses, including services, trade, and entertainment, with linkages to urban railway lines and stations along the routes.

The plan also suggests 65 sites in the north and south of the Red River, totaling 2,170 hectares, that are considered suitable for the establishment of subterranean space.

At the event, Hanoi’s Vice Chairman Duong Duc Tuan emphasized the importance of the master plan for the capital's growth, which is the first of its type with unprecedented, high complexity.

There are no specifics on how this ambitious plan would be carried out at this time. Hanoi is undoubtedly accustomed to metro projects being postponed for a variety of reasons ranging from capital inflation to corruption.