Hanoi metro becoming increasingly popular

Passengers ride a train of Hanoi's Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu

People are increasingly using the Hanoi metro, with 31,020 traveling by it on Monday, the highest number recorded on a weekday.

Since last month, when there was a spurt in the number of users, the company has added two more trains and increased the frequency during rush hour to once every six minutes from the earlier 10 minutes.

Students are increasingly renting property in Ha Dong District and commuting by the metro to downtown areas, Truong said, adding the service is helping reduce traffic in the city’s southwest by encouraging people to use it.

When the metro first began operation in November last year, there were only 7,000-8,000 passengers a day, but the numbers have been increasing gradually.

During the National Day holiday on September 2 some 55,000 people used the trains. Since last week the average number of passengers during weekdays is up by 3,000.

The 13-km Cat Linh-Ha Dong route has 12 stations. Each of its nine trains have four cars and a capacity of 960 passengers. They take 23 minutes to complete a trip.

Fares cost VND8,000-15,000 (34-63 U.S. cents). A monthly pass costs VND200,000, and half that for students.