First HCMC metro line’s full trial run this month: contractor

Ho Chi Minh City plans to conduct a full trial run of its Metro Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) later this month, after nine months of test runs on its elevated section, says contractor Hitachi Ltd.

In a recent report sent to the municipal Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), Hitachi said this will be the first time a full trial run is conducted on both elevated and underground sections of the line.

To ensure safety, the number of passengers on board is limited to a maximum of 20, the contractor said, adding it will dispatch emergency management staff on each train.

It also asked the investor and related parties to thoroughly prepare firefighting equipment, evacuation plans and the lighting system in the tunnel.

The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien is the first urban metro line in HCMC. The 19.7-kilometer line will run from Ben Thanh Hub in District 1 to Suoi Tien Depot in Thu Duc city on the city’s outskirts. It features three underground and 11 elevated stations.

All the trains used on this route have been made in Japan. They are designed to carry a maximum of 930 passengers, and run at speeds of up to 110 km per hour on the elevated section and 80 km underground.

The project’s cost of VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion) has been sourced from Japanese official development assistance (ODA) and Vietnamese counterpart funds. Work began on the metro line in 2008, but the project has missed several deadlines.

A test run was conducted in December 2022 on an elevated section of the line. During the test, the train stopped to pick up and drop off passengers at the Hi-tech Zone Station near Saigon Hi-tech Park.

HCMC has plans for 220 kilometers of metro lines with an investment of $25 billion. The network could reach 56.43 kilometers with an investment of $8.85 billion by 2030.

HCMC’s Ben Thanh-Tham Luong line (Metro Line No. 2), with an investment of VND47.89 trillion ($2.04 billion), is set to begin construction in 2025 and open to traffic in 2030. The 11.04-kilometer metro will feature 9.09 kilometers of underground and 1.95 kilometers of overground tracks. So far, 86.35% of site clearance has been completed for the project.

The city is drafting plans for Metro Line No. 3, connecting the Ben Thanh market with a high-tech healthcare zone; Metro Line No. 4 linking Thanh Xuan ward of District 12 and the Hiep Phuoc urban area; and Metro Line No. 5 joining the Bay Hien crossroads and Saigon Bridge.

The city has called for ODA from foreign partners including the JICA, ADB, KfW and EIB, and put up the transit oriented development (TOD) model to attract further investments.