Hanoi inaugurates new metro line

The Vietnamese capital, famous for its motorbike congestion, is aiming to reduce pollution by building nine more lines by 2030. But it will be difficult for residents to part with their motorbikes.

Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The first Chinese-made urban metro line opened in the Vietnamese capital today. There are more than 5 million motorbikes on the roads in Hanoi, but with the construction of nine more lines by 2030, local authorities aim to reduce the traffic and pollution for which the city is notorious.

After years of delays and almost a doubling of production costs, the first train left Cat Linh station, near the centre, to begin a 13km journey to Ha Dong in the east of the country.

"I decided to give it a try because I was curious," Nguyen Thi Thu told AFP. "I am very happy to be able to take a ride after all the delays." The line has taken a decade to complete, with interruptions due to security concerns and rising costs to blame, driving up spending from 476 million to nearly 780 million euros.

Hanoi, which has a population of 9 million, is known worldwide for the density of motorbikes that fill the streets and run amok, endangering the lives of pedestrians.

In 2008, there were about 2 million motorbikes on the roads, a figure that will rise to 5.7 million in 2020. The number of cars has also grown dramatically over the same period: from 185,000 to 700,000.

Buses are the only other form of available transport and are used by only one in five Vietnamese. Traffic, however, is considered one of the main sources of air pollution in the capital by Hanoi's environmental protection department. 

Transport ministry official Vu Hong Son says the new urban metro will address many of these problems, but it is unclear whether residents will easily part with their motorbikes, because 'it takes a long time to change people's habits'.

• vietnam
• hanoi
• traffic
• motorbikes
• pollution
• air
• railway
• train
• china
• construction