Hanoi urban railway ‘mega-project’ planned  The Vietnam Railway Administration has submitted to the Ministry of Transport a statement related to a huge Hanoi urban railway project that would run from south West Lake, crossing Ngoc Khanh and Hoa Lac to the suburban area of Ba Vi.    The 42 kilometre route would promote economic development in the west of the capital. The 1.435mm gauge dual track line will run 38.43 kilometres starting from Van Cao in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh District and terminating at Thach Binh Commune in the suburban district of Thach That. If branch routes are included, the whole section will span 42.2km, far surpassing the scope of any urban railway projects currently being executed in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. According to a source of the Vietnam Railway Administration (VRA), the project will cost a record-breaking VND60.272 trillion ($2.87 billion). Based on the project draft drawn up by the consulting unit, the Ministry of Transport’s (MoT) Transport Engineering Design Incorporated (TEDI), the project’s construction cost would total VND17.543 trillion ($835 million), equipment VND14,904 trillion ($710 million) in addition to materials, project management, technology transfer and land acquisition expenses. Construction would be split into two phases, with phase 1 slated for completion by 2019 and phase 2 was slated for completion by 2014. The route would boast a 100km per hour surface speed. Based on this it would take just half an hour from south West Lake in Ba Dinh to Ba Vi District. The VRA views the south West Lake-Ngoc Khanh-Hoa Lac-Ba Vi section as having vast potential to spur socio-economic development in Hanoi’s western area, linking Hanoi’s West Lake to new economic and political centres such as the National Convention Centre, National Stadium, national administrative area, and new urban areas. “The route would help deal with persistent traffic congestion in central areas through providing rapid and convenient passenger transport services,” said VRA’s deputy chief Nguyen Van Doanh. Despite concerns over the project’s feasibility due to its mammoth size, the VRA said investors from Japan, South Korea and China had expressed interest in the project.  VIR