HCMC’s metro latest plan : 7 trains to enter operation in July

The company that will operate HCMC’s metro line No.1 said in its newest plan that seven out of 17 trains on the line will enter service this July instead of waiting until the fourth quarter.

The Urban Railway Company Limited No.1 HCMC, which was established by the city’s authorities in 2015 to operate line No.1, said Monday that the seven trains would be put into use from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, as part to the first operational phase of the line from July 1 to Sept. 30.

Each train will depart 10 minutes apart, according to Giao Thong Van Tai newspaper under the Ministry of Transport.

The second phase, scheduled from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, will operate 12 trains on weekdays. The operating hours will be from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with a frequency of 8-10 minutes per turn.

On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the line will operate nine trains.

For the third phase from Jan. 1 next year onwards, the operational plan will be decided based on the situation at the time.

On March 14, the HCMC’s Management Authority for Urban Railways, which oversees all metro projects in the city, announced to delay the commercial operation schedule for line No.1 to the fourth quarter this year, instead of July as the most previous plan said.

It said there was a lot of work to be prepared and the line would not be ready for operation in July.

Work on the first metro project of HCMC started in 2012 and has gone through various delays, and costs have risen to over VND43.7 trillion ($1.77 billion).

The line will use 17 trains imported from Japan. Each will comprise of three cars.

Vietnam currently has just one operational metro line, Cat Linh – Ha Dong in Hanoi.

By Minh Nga – VnExpress.net – April 1, 2024