HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Transport on Monday requested the Railway Project Management Board strengthen oversight to ensure safety and security on the Cát Linh- Hà Đông elevated railway.

The move was made after materials and equipment reportedly stolen from stations and depots of the railway project.

Since August 1, the line has been connected to the national power grid for trial operation. Therefore, another important task for the project management board is to ensure the safety of its electricity system.

The project EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) general contractor, the China Railway Sixth Group (CRSG), was asked to strengthen security personnel presence, install surveillance cameras and fences to control people entering the station and prevent unauthorised persons from entering the construction site.

All Chinese-Vietnamese bilingual documents planned for the project must be examined and approved by the management board before being printed and used at the site. It is strictly forbidden to post or publicise the documents before this approval to avoid misleading the public.

On August 11, the general contractor invited all of the workers and their relatives to attend a trial run of the elevated train. In order to control entrance, bilingual Chinese – Vietnamese metro tickets were used with one-day validity.

Regarding the using of signboards and printed documents in Chinese and Vietnamese in the project area, the board reported that the materials are only for internal and temporary use during the construction to facilitate the work of on-site Chinese engineers and experts.

The ministry also required the EPC contractor to allocate human resources to ensure the remaining work of the project is completed in accordance with the schedule and quality requirements.

Since the metro line was also connected to the national power grid for its trial operation last month, electrical hazards are a new worry.

The work must comply with the provisions of the contract and the detailed plan approved by competent authorities, according to the transport ministry.

In case the contractor performs tasks other than those laid out in the project plan, it must report to the management board for consideration and approval beforehand.

Connecting Đống Đa District’s Cát Linh Street with Hà Đông District’s Yên Nghĩa bus station, the 13km-long elevated railway includes 12 stations and a depot at Phú Lương Ward in Hà Đông District. The railway will operate 13 trains with four carriages each running every two minutes at speeds of 35 to 80kmph.

The railway has been constructed using Official Development Assistance (ODA) from China with a total investment of US$868 million. The railway will run on a trial next month. — VNS