The Hanoi Metro is becoming the main driver of urban transport transformation, with the simultaneous launch of works on five new lines that will completely redefine mobility in Vietnam’s capital.
The five new metro lines will have a total length of 303.5 km and will serve the main urban areas, Nội Bài International Airport and the city’s new development areas, and are designed to form the basis of the future high-capacity public transport network.
The launch of the works took place in the presence of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and marks the shift from a ‘project-by-project’ approach to the coordinated development of an integrated network. Instead of proceeding with just one metro line at a time, the local authorities have decided to commence construction on five lines simultaneously, in order to save time in building the network and to respond more quickly to population growth and the demand for mobility in a metropolis with over eight million inhabitants.
According to the Management Board of the Hanoi Metro (MRB), the simultaneous launch of the five projects reflects a fundamental shift in the way transport infrastructure is developed.
The investment programme for the construction of the new metro lines is estimated to be worth USD 50 billion.
Turnkey contracts for the new network
The five lines now launched play a clear role in shaping Hanoi’s future urban structure. The five new lines cover the city in all strategic directions, forming a coherent metropolitan network.
Line 1 (Ngọc Hồi – Gia Lâm – Noi Bai Airport) – the main North–South axis, linking the airport and the north of the capital to the central station and the southern districts, connecting the urban metro to the national rail network. It will be 81 km long.
Line 2 (Noi Bai – Nam Thăng Long – Hoàn Kiếm – Trần Hưng Đạo – Thượng Đình) – the second north–south axis, which passes through the historic centre (Hoàn Kiếm, Trần Hưng Đạo) and then heads south, providing an alternative to Line 1. It will be 56.5 km long.
Line 8 (Sơn Đông – Mai Dịch – Ring Road 3 – Linh Nam – Dương Xá) – a major west–east axis, which starts in the Hoa Lac area (west) and crosses the city towards the industrial and logistics zones in the east, without necessarily passing through the heart of the old town. This is the longest of all five lines to be built and will be 91 km long.
Line 10 (Cổ Loa – Võ Chí Công – Ring Road 3 – Ring Road 2.5 – Times City – Cổ Loa) – a circular line, which forms a rail loop around the central area and the new developments, enabling travel between neighbourhoods without passing through the city centre. It will be 43 km long.
Line 14 (Thăng Long Bridge – Ciputra area – Hanoi city centre – Ocean Park – the eastern part of the city) – an east–west axis through the city centre, linking the west (Thăng Long Bridge, Ciputra) with the new urban centres in the east (Ocean Park), strengthening the connection between the city centre and the city’s recent expansions. This will be 27 km long.
A key element of this phase of Hanoi’s metro development is the involvement of the consortium comprising Vinhomes and VinSpeed High-Speed Railway Investment and Development, appointed to act as the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor for the five new lines.
This approach reflects the authorities’ desire to combine public resources with the capabilities of strong private-sector players to manage a portfolio of projects on a scale rarely seen in the region’s urban infrastructure. In effect, the city is adopting not only a technical plan but also an investment governance model designed to support long-term implementation.
Together, these lines do not merely create new routes, but outline a model of a city in which the metro becomes the backbone of mobility. The lines are positioned to link the airport, the city centre, residential neighbourhoods, industrial areas and new developments around a polycentric structure, in which economic activity and housing are no longer concentrated exclusively in the historic centre, but are distributed along the rail corridors. It is a shift in thinking: public transport does not simply ‘follow’ the city, but ends up shaping the way the city grows.
From two lines to a metropolitan network
At present, Hanoi’s metro system is still in its early stages, with only two lines in operation. Even so, these have demonstrated that urban rail transport can become a genuine alternative to motorbikes and cars, the modes that dominate mobility in Vietnam’s capital.
The Hanoi Metro operator and local authorities explicitly refer to the metro as a tool capable of changing travel habits, through integration with the bus network, the development of ‘park & ride’ facilities and connections with other modes of transport.
According to the government, the Hanoi Metro will be a network comprising 18 lines with a total length of 979 km, making it the most ambitious strategic plan in South-East Asia. The expansion plan is phased: approximately 500 km of urban rail should be completed by 2035, with the remainder of the network to be built between 2035 and 2045.
This timetable shows that Hanoi is not merely aiming for numerical growth of the network, but also for a controlled pace – fast enough to close the gap with other Asian metropolises, yet sufficiently well-structured to allow for the urban and operational integration of the new lines.
From a public transport perspective, the transition from two lines to a fully-fledged metro network will mean a shift in the balance between private and public transport, with a direct impact on congestion, air quality and accessibility.
The metro: a tool for urban reorganisation
The new lines are not viewed merely as transport solutions, but as tools for reorganising Hanoi’s entire urban structure. New residential neighbourhoods, commercial areas and business centres will be developed around metro stations, in line with the principles of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), in which high-capacity public transport becomes the axis around which development is structured. The aim is to reduce dependence on motorbikes and cars, limit traffic congestion and ensure a more balanced distribution of economic and social activities within the metropolis.
The acceleration of investment is also made possible by special legislative mechanisms adopted by the Vietnamese authorities, which simplify approval procedures and allow several major projects to be carried out simultaneously. Within this framework, the expansion of the Hanoi metro is becoming one of the most important strategic investments for the coming decades: not only for mobility, but also for the way in which the capital will manage its growth, attract investment and improve quality of life.
Through this massive investment, Hanoi aims to transition from a still-fragmented public transport system to one in which the metro is the main pillar of urban mobility.
For a rapidly expanding city, where population density and the number of vehicles are constantly rising, the expansion of the urban rail network is no longer merely an option, but a prerequisite for its evolution into a modern, connected and sustainable metropolis.
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