An 8.5-km elevated section of the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line, the city’s second route, began commercial operations on Thursday morning, after nearly 14 years of construction.

At about 6:00 am, many people arrived at Nhon Station to buy tickets to experience the metro line.

Nguyen Dinh Tien, a 72-year-old resident in Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he was excited as he had been waiting for the operation of the metro line for years.

“I am touched and happy. I live near Nhon Station. [I have] waited for it for dozens of years and now I can experience it," Tien added.

“The metro line will help ease traffic congestion on Road No. 32. Residents should use it as it is convenient, fast, clean, and help reduce traffic jams.”

Vu Hong Truong, general director of Metro Hanoi Co. Ltd., told Tuoi Tre that he was deeply moved to see residents boarding the first train on the Nhon – Hanoi Station metro line.

Truong shared that a war veteran waiting for a train at Cau Giay Station at 7:00 am is one of the motivations for him and his team to improve service quality.

The elevated section of the Nhon-Hanoi Station metro line includes eight stations: Nhon, Minh Khai, Phu Dien, Cau Dien, Le Duc Tho, Vietnam National University, Ha Pagoda, and Cau Giay.

Trains on this route began running at 8:00 am on Thursday. Starting Friday, they will run every ten minutes from 5:30 am to 10:00 pm.

Operation times will be adjusted in the future to meet passenger demands.

Rides will be free for the first 15 days of the line's operation. After that, fares will be VND8,000 (US$0.30) per single ride between any two stations and VND12,000 ($0.50) for the entire route.

Daily passes will be available for VND24,000 ($1), allowing unlimited rides within a day.

Monthly passes will cost VND200,000 ($7.90) and VND100,000 ($4) for students.

Hanoi also offers free rides to children under six years old, revolutionary contributors, people over 60 years old, and the disabled.

The Nhon - Hanoi Station metro line runs 12.5 kilometers from Nhon in Nam Tu Liem District to the Hanoi Railway Station in the downtown area, with 8.5 kilometers on elevated tracks, four kilometers underground, and one depot.

Work on the metro line began on September 25, 2010 and its completion was initially scheduled for 2016.

However, the project was delayed several times for various reasons, increasing its total investment to VND34.5 trillion ($1.4 billion) from VND18 trillion ($712 million).

The underground section is currently 43.5 percent complete and is expected to be finished by December 2027, VnExpress reported.

The Cat Linh - Ha Dong metro route, the first of its kind in Hanoi, was put into operation in November 2021.

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