Last trains for HCMC’s first metro line arrive

The last two trains out of the total 17 for Ho Chi Minh City's first metro line, Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien, docked at the metropolis’s Khanh Hoi port on Friday after a week’s voyage at sea from Japan.

The arrival of the duo marked the start of a new phase for the Metro Line 1 project, which will focus on system and train testing before commercial operation at the end of 2023.

Each train has three carriages that are 21 meters long, three meters broad, and nearly four meters tall. They were transported to Long Binh depot in Thu Duc city to be joined into a nearly 62-meter-long train.

Metro Line 1 trains are entirely made in Japan and have a top speed of 110 kph when above the ground, and 80 kph for underground sections. The hull is blue in color and built of aluminum alloy.

A train can carry 930 passengers, of whom 147 are seated and 783 standing. It has facilities to help those with disabilities, as well as priority seats for pregnant women and the elderly. The cockpit is as broad as a wagon at both ends of the railway, with an emergency door in front.

The metro line saw the first train arrive in October 2020. Up till now, all 17 trains have been delivered and are awaiting trial deployment.

The Metro Line 1 project started in 2012 with an initial investment of roughly VND17,388 billion ($757 million), which was later increased to $1.9 billion. It has three underground stations and 11 elevated ones.

The 19.7-km Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route will run between Districts 1 and 9.

Metro Line 2 (phase 1, Ben Thanh-Tham Luong) is under construction. The city is preparing to build Metro Line 5, phase 1 (Bay Hien Intersection - Saigon Bridge), while the remaining routes are calling for investment.