The Latest on the Cát Linh – Hà Đông Railway Station Leak: A Soaking Wet Mess

Heavy rain poured in the western area of Hanoi around 10 am on May 23, affecting the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway’s Yen Nghia station (Ha Dong district). The station experienced a significant amount of rainwater flowing from the roof, pooling on the second floor where the trains and passengers are located.

This inconvenience posed challenges for passengers, who would get wet without an umbrella when boarding or alighting from the trains. The station’s floor was wet, requiring two staff members to continuously mop and clean the area.

Observations by passengers and reporters at the scene revealed a large opening in the station’s roof, likely caused by the strong winds. Despite the station staff’s efforts to mop and sweep the water, the second floor remained wet due to the heavy rainfall.

Hanoi Metro, the company operating the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway, provided a report on the incident later that afternoon.

According to the report, the damage to the Yen Nghia station’s roof was a result of Typhoon Yagi in 2024. During that typhoon, both the Cat Linh-Ha Dong and Nhon-Hanoi urban railway lines had to suspend their operations temporarily.

“Immediately after the typhoon, the company conducted a thorough assessment of the damage caused by Typhoon Yagi and the operational status of the lines. We also worked expeditiously to restore services as soon as possible,” the Hanoi Metro report stated. “For the infrastructure damage, the company inspected, documented, and proposed repair solutions, including routine maintenance and emergency repairs for natural disasters, to the competent authorities for approval.”

Hanoi Metro acknowledged their responsibility for the delayed repairs: “The delay in repairing infrastructure damage caused by natural disasters has negatively impacted our passengers and train operations on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong line 2A. This delay was due to our company’s sluggish response, lack of proactive coordination with relevant units, and failure to promptly report to the competent authorities for timely and effective solutions.”

To address the issue, Hanoi Metro shared their plan to immediately collaborate with relevant agencies to undertake emergency repairs on several items, including replacing the damaged roof panels at Yen Nghia station, fixing broken stairs, and repairing broken glass walls at the stations.

For items requiring substantial financial resources and approval from higher authorities, Hanoi Metro is actively coordinating with the managing agency to expedite their implementation as soon as possible.

Prior to this incident, on May 19, passengers on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong line (heading from Cat Linh to Ha Dong) experienced a separate issue with water leaking from the train’s ceiling, forcing them to use umbrellas or move to different seats to avoid getting wet.