Metro Line 1 begins trial runs at full capacity

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway No. 1 Co., Ltd. (HURC1), Metro Line 1 has undergone trial runs at 20 per cent of design capacity, including routine operations and emergency drills from October 14 to November 8. The line is now ready for trial runs at 100 per cent of the capacity.

Accordingly, trains will operate from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day from November 11 to 17, with intervals between trains ranging from four and a half minutes to 10 minutes.

It is expected that 14 trains are running at full capacity on the urban rail line, with three backup trains. The trains are operated following two scenarios, including normal weekday operations and holiday operations.

After November 18, the operation plan will be further discussed among the relevant stakeholders. The metro line is aimed at being completely operational by the end of 2024, according to HURC1.

The trial runs are divided into two phases, with Japan's NJPT consultants in charge of phase 1 and HURC1 staff in charge of phase 2. After theoretical and practical training for the staff of HURC1, the trial operations have been conducted since early October.

There are 47 scenarios for the trial runs, including normal operations and emergencies such as fires, explosions, power outages, flooding, and signal failures at various points along the entire Metro Line 1.

Starting construction in 2012, Metro Line 1 is nearly 20 km long, from Ben Thanh Station in District 1 to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc, and boasts three underground and 11 elevated stations. The project has a total investment of around $1.82 billion.

While the opening of Vietnam’s first metro line starts a new era for urban public transport, local authorities and developers will hope to learn lessons from the painful and costly delays.

The first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City, linking Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to Suoi Tien in Thu Duc, could be in operation by the end of the year.

Despite the nationwide real estate market experiencing difficulties, the apartment segment surrounding metro lines in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi has seen a sharp increase in prices.