Hanoi's tree purge continues, with more old perennials facing the axe, or more correctly the chain saw, because of a new rail line linking Nhon with Hanoi Railway Station.

The Hanoi urban railway management unit has tagged another 40 trees from Kim Ma to Xuan Thuy streets to go.

Hundreds of trees so far have been felled for the rail project.

Dozens of old trees surrounding Thu Le Zoo on Kim Ma Street are going to be felled for the rail project

Nguyen Minh Nguyet, a resident in once leafy and historic Kim Ma Street, said the metro line was necessary, but to chop down big trees was not a good decision.

"There must be a measure to keep this line of trees," she said. "It takes many years to grow such trees.To keep them means keeping the city green."

Earlier, nearly 30 old trees, on Lang and Buoi streets, were cut down for the Belt Road No. 2 project.

Many old trees were also cut down on Lang Street

The section of rail line from Nhon to Hanoi Railway Station is about 12.5 kilometres long, including 8.5 kilometres elevated and four kilometres underground. Total investment in the project will be USD1.57 billion. Work began in 2010 and is scheduled to finish by November 2018.

A recent purge of trees in Hanoi, to reduce traffic congestion for car owners, resulted in a Party investigation that led to the dismissal of several officials.