Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has requested relevant ministries and agencies to urgently complete related procedures to accelerate review and inspection to soon put Hanoi's Nhon – Hanoi Railway Station metro project into commercial operation.

The order came after the project failed to meet deadline again.

Under the most recent operational plan by the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board (MRB), the metro line was scheduled for commercial operation from late June.

By the end of June, work on the elevated section of the project was 100% complete, according to the MRB.

Eight elevated stations and the Nhon depot have passed fire safety inspections. All ten trains have been registered and tagged. Equipment at the stations and depot has also been certified and affixed with an inspection stamp as required by regulations.

Systra, the consulting firm, has issued the Take-Over Certificate (TOC) for each contract package. 

However, the project is currently being reviewed, inspected, and then accepted by the relevant authorities to get a safety certificate, after which it will be eligible for commercial operations along the elevated section.

The Apave Bureau Veritas - Certifer (ABC) consortium has completed its field assessment, confirming the readiness of the operational unit, and is finalizing the final report to issue the system safety certification, expected on July 10, according to the State Inspection Council.

Once ABC has submitted its report and certification, MRB will present the system safety certification dossier to the Vietnam Railway Authority at the Ministry of Transport for appraisal and approval. Finally, the State Inspection Council will convene to review the acceptance results and approve the commercial operation of the elevated section.

The Nhon - Hanoi Railway Station line runs 12.5 km from Nhon in Hanoi's Nam Tu Liem district via Kim Ma Street to Hanoi Railway Station in Dong Da district. Construction began in 2010 at an estimated cost of over VND34.8 trillion (nearly $1.37 billion).