Test run on Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway

The train runs at 5 km per hour from Cat Linh station to Lang station to check the rail system, line, switchboard, and joints on the line.

On the morning of September 28, the Chinese general contractor conducted a test run of the construction train on some sections of the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway line (Hanoi); then the official test run will be on October 1 as planned.

According to experts, the construction ship is an inspection ship at the construction site, not a passenger ship; the test run recorded that the ship ran smoothly, without vibration and no loud engine noise.

Mr. Duong Hong - Project Executive Director, Chinese General Contractor, said that the train's test speed is from five kilometers per hour to check the railway infrastructure and rails, then increase to 10 to 20 kilometers per hour.

It is expected that in one year, the Cat Linh - Ha Dong urban railway will officially operate.

Currently, the project has completed 95% of the construction and installation volume, 60% of the equipment has been transferred to Vietnam, and 40% of the installation work has been completed. In the coming months, contractors will install the signal and electronic information systems and complete the construction and installation of the stations.

According to Mr. Duong Hong, if the project does not encounter any obstacles, the train will be officially tested on the entire route by April 1, 2018. The Cat Linh - Ha Dong train can be put into commercial operation six months later, depending on the results of the operation.

The General Contractor's representative also said that the biggest difficulty is still funding, the project has not yet fully disbursed capital and the General Contractor owes Vietnamese contractors more than 600 billion VND. To achieve the current progress, the Chinese General Contractor has advanced working capital of more than 65 million USD to pay contractors.

"We only use working capital to solve the immediate problem," said Mr. Duong Hong, adding that the General Contractor has reported to the Chinese Embassy to urge disbursement and worked with the Ministry of Transport and relevant parties to join in speeding up the project's progress.

According to the plan of the Ministry of Transport, the Cat Linh - Ha Dong railway project will complete the equipment installation by the end of July 2017. From October 2017, the project will start testing the entire system for 3 - 6 months. It is expected that the project will be put into commercial operation in the second quarter of 2018.

However, the project is behind schedule in many areas. According to the report of the Chinese General Contractor, the project needs an additional 250 million USD in loans from China, but due to procedures on both sides of Vietnam and China, the capital has not yet been fully disbursed.

According to VNN