Motorbike-clogged Hanoi rolls out first urban railway

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong line has taken a decade to complete, with its construction interrupted several times due to safety issues and spiralling costs.-mAFP

HANOI (AFP): It's a city of more than five million motorbikes but Hanoi on Saturday (Nov 6) opened its first ever urban railway line as authorities try to cut traffic and pollution that have long dogged the Vietnamese capital.

After years of delays and a near-doubling of construction costs, a train eased out of Cat Linh station, close to the centre of the city, to begin its 13-kilometre journey towards the densely populated east.