Vietnam’s first urban railway, with the China Railway Sixth Group as the EPC contractor, was officially handed over to the Vietnamese authorities and put into operation on the morning of November 6. The Hanoi Department of Transport said the line which connects Cat Linh with Ha Dong would serve citizens free of charge for 15 days before its official commercial operation. 

　　The handover ceremony

　　A handover ceremony was held at the departure station of Cat Linh. Le Van Thanh, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Hu Suojin, Minister-Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, and representatives from Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hanoi municipal government attended the handover ceremony.   

　　The Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway line is the largest urban light transit project Chinese companies ever built overseas in accordance with Chinese standards throughout the process from design to construction, equipment supply, personnel training, trial and operation, project supervision and operation consultancy. It drew high attention from both the Chinese and Vietnamese governments. The official handover marked a major breakthrough in Chinese companies’ efforts to apply Chinese urban railway technologies in the global market.