HCMC – The Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line will reduce its trips and operating hours during the Lunar New Year holiday, following expectations of lower travel demand.
According to the HCMC Management Center of Public Transport, the revised schedule for Metro Line No. 1 will be implemented from January 26 to February 1, corresponding to the period from the 27th of the 12th and final lunar month to the 4th day of the Lunar New Year.
Specifically, the number of train trips per day will range from 110 to 200, a reduction from the usual average of 200. This period will also mark the start of fare collection for this urban railway after one month of free service.
On the 27th and 28th of the 12th lunar month, the rail line will operate from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., respectively.
The operating hours will be further reduced on the next two days (the 29th and the 1st of the Lunar New Year), with services running from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On the 2nd and 3rd of the Lunar New Year, the metro line will run from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on the 4th, the service will be available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Trains will be spaced 10 to 15 minutes apart. Additionally, 17 electric bus routes connecting to the metro will follow a similar schedule adjustment during this period.
Starting on the 5th of the Lunar New Year, the metro line will return to its regular schedule, operating from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with 200 trips per day. Train intervals will be 8 to 12 minutes.
According to the HCMC Urban Railway Company Limited (HURC1), from December 22, 2024, to January 5, the city’s first metro line served over 1.7 million passengers, far exceeding the projected 575,000 passengers.
During this period, the metro line ran 3,029 trips, with passenger numbers peaking on January 1, reaching 275,144 passengers.
