HCMC – Four more metro trains for HCMC’s first metro line project connecting Ben Thanh Market with Suoi Tien Theme Park will be shipped to the city by the end of November and the beginning of December.
The HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways, the project’s investor, said two of the four trains would arrive at the Khanh Hoi Port in the city’s District 4 on November 28, while the two others will arrive on December 5. These trains will be transported to the Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City.
With the upcoming arrival of the four trains, the metro line No.1 in HCMC will have 11 of the 17 trains this year. In October last year, the first three trains of the project were shipped to the city, and in July this year, six more trains arrived in the city.
The metro line No.1 has 17 trains manufactured in Japan, including three-car trains capable of carrying 930 passengers. The trains will travel at a maximum speed of 110 kilometers per hour on elevated sections and 80 kilometers per hour underground. With an average distance of over one kilometer between every two metro stations, the trains are expected to travel at 40 kilometers per hour once they are put into service.
The first metro line project of HCMC costs over VND43.7 trillion in investment. The 20-kilometer-long metro has three underground stations and 11 elevated ones.
It was previously scheduled for completion by the end of this year and to be operational next year. However, the schedule was changed due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.
The project has also faced some obstacles linked to contract procedures and the disbursement of official development assistance capital. The project is now 88% complete and is set to reach 91% at the end of 2021.
