Vietnam is accelerating the development of urban rail infrastructure in its two largest cities—Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi (HCMC)—as part of long-term plans to address congestion and support sustainable urban growth. By 2035, Ho Chi Minh City aims to complete 355 km of urban rail, expanding to 510 km by 2060 under the city’s updated construction master plan which is aligned with Conclusion No. 49-KL/TW, issued by the Politburo in 2023. 

Meanwhile, Hanoi’s Urban Transport Master Plan until 2030 with a vision to 2050 outlines the development of 15 lines totalling over 616.9 km by 2050. As of early 2025, only 21.5 km, or 4 per cent, of Hanoi’s planned network is operational. Combined, Hanoi and HCMC aim to build nearly 1,000 km of urban rail by 2060, signalling a major shift in Vietnam’s urban transport strategy.

Existing Urban Rail Network
The current operational urban rail network in Vietnam spans over 41.3 km and covers 34 stations. 
The country has two metro systems, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with only three lines partially or fully functional. 

Table 1 provides information about the urban rail network in Vietnam.

Planned Urban Rail Expansion
Major projects in Hanoi and HCMC are at various stages of development, ranging from pre-feasibility to active construction. More than 600 km of urban rail lines are in various phases of development in the two cities and will require investments of more than USD55 billion by 2045. 

In Hanoi, seven metro lines are planned with a combined length of around 200 km, featuring a mix of elevated and underground alignments. 

Table 2 provides information about the planned metro lines in Hanoi.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the urban rail network includes 14 projects in various stages of development. This includes 10 metro lines, one light rail line (Thủ Thiêm–Long Thành), one tramway, and two monorail lines, totalling over 310 km. 

Table 3 provides information on the planned urban rail projects in HCMC.

Hanoi Metro: Status and Future Plans
The Hanoi Metro is Vietnam’s first urban rail system, developed to address increasing traffic congestion and expand public transport capacity. As of 2025, two lines are operational. Line 2A (Cát Linh–Hà Đông), a 13.1-km-long elevated line with 12 stations, began service in November 2021. Line 3 (Nhổn–Cầu Giấy), the 8.5-km-long elevated section of a larger line, started operations in August 2024. The combined daily ridership averages around 50,000 passengers. Hanoi plans to develop 15 metro lines totalling 617 km by 2045, with 10 lines (410 km) targeted for completion by 2035. The total estimated investment is USD55 billion, including USD14.6 billion by 2030 and USD37 billion by 2035. Major funding sources include official development assistance (ODA) from China Exim Bank, JICA, AFD, ADB, KfW, and allocations from local budgets.

Annual ridership: In 2024, the Hanoi Metro recorded approximately 14.8 million passenger trips across its two lines.

  • Line 2A (Cát Linh–Hà Đông) carried about 11.8 million passengers.
  • The Line 3 elevated section (Nhổn–Hanoi Railway Station) carried around 3 million passengers in just Q4 2024 and early 2025.

Future projections

  • By 2030: Daily ridership across the system is expected to reach 2.6 million (approximately 7 per cent of city public transport)
  • By 2035: The daily ridership is expected to be 11.8 million (approximately 40 per cent of modal share) 
  • By 2045: The full network is expected to carry nearly 3.2 million passengers per day.

Hanoi Monorail
Hanoi’s Urban Transport Master Plan until 2030 with a vision to 2050includes three monorail routes in addition to metro lines. A proposed suspended (sky) monorail along the Red River axis would support tourism, increase riverside connectivity, and facilitate integration with water-bus services.

While none of these proposed projects have progressed to the detailed design or construction stage, these monorail concepts nevertheless remain part of Hanoi’s long-term effort to diversify urban transit modes and improve connectivity along major corridors.

HCMC Urban Rail: Metro, LRT, and Monorail Plans
HCMC’s long-term plan envisions a 510-km urban rail network by 2060, consisting of metro, light rail, tram, and monorail systems. The development is being executed in phases.

Table 4 provides details about HCMC’s urban rail system.  

Alongside the metro network, HCMC is planning other rail systems to enhance connectivity. These are detailed in Table 5.

Financing Strategies and Policies
The financing landscape for urban rail development in Vietnam is shaped by a mix of domestic public funding, foreign aid, and evolving efforts to attract private capital. It reflects both the country’s ambition to expand transit infrastructure and its limitations in mobilising large-scale investment efficiently.

Table 6 provides details of the funding allocation for some Hanoi Metro lines.

Capital Mobilisation for HCMC Metro Planning
Ho Chi Minh City aims to complete seven metro lines, including Line 1, by 2035, with a total network length of approximately 355 km and an estimated capital requirement of around USD40 billion. To support this goal, the project outlines 43 special mechanisms grouped into six key areas designed to enhance the city’s ability to implement urban rail projects. These areas are:

  • Planning
  • Capital mobilisation policies
  • Procedures and implementation authority
  • Site clearance
  • Technical standards and technology
  • Management and operations

The funding strategy prioritises public investment as the main source, while also detailing plans to raise capital through various channels. These include increasing contributions from the central budget, retaining local financial resources, promoting transit-oriented development (TOD), and issuing local government bonds. The city also intends to continue engaging with potential investors and conducting research throughout the implementation process to encourage further participation in metro development.

Table 7 provides details about the funding strategy for HCMC’s metro system.


Use of public–private partnership (PPP) model 

There is increasing interest in applying the public–private partnership (PPP) model to metro and TOD projects in Vietnam. Currently, most funding for public transport infrastructure is sourced from the state budget and through concessional loans under ODA, mainly from Japan and other international institutions. However, this model alone is insufficient to meet long-term investment needs.

Experts argue that greater private sector participation through PPPs could reduce fiscal pressure and bring in technical expertise. If effectively implemented, private capital could contribute 20–30 per cent of total construction costs for TOD-related rail projects. As part of this strategy, international firms such as Larsen & Toubro (India) have been approached for potential cooperation in future projects, although discussions remain at an early stage.

Recent policy developments

  • Resolution 188 (2025): Enables Hanoi and HCMC to adopt pilot mechanisms for TOD, land auctions, PPPs, and local bond issuance to diversify funding sources. Authorities are now prioritising TOD and land auctions to recover infrastructure investment costs through value capture.

Challenges

  • Low Private Sector Interest: Due to poor past project performance, cost overruns, delays, and overlapping regulations, private investors have shown limited interest.
  • Limited PPP Framework Maturity: While Vietnam promotes  PPPs, the implementation of this model remains weak in the urban rail sector.
  • High Dependence on ODA: Most early metro lines are heavily reliant on concessional loans from development agencies, limiting financial flexibility.

Conclusion
Vietnam’s urban rail expansion is a critical step towards modernising its urban transport infrastructure and addressing long-standing congestion problems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. With close to 1,000 km of urban rail planned by 2060 and with multiple modes—including metro, light rail, tramway, and monorail—under development, the scale and ambition of these projects are unprecedented in the country.

However, infrastructure delivery has faced delays, funding gaps, and limited private sector interest due to regulatory hurdles and earlier project inefficiencies. Going forward, success will depend on Vietnam’s ability to transition from ODA dependence to a more balanced, multi-source financing model that integrates local fiscal tools with private sector expertise. By doing so, the country can ensure that its urban rail systems are not only built but are also scaled efficiently to meet the needs of its rapidly growing cities.