Test run begins for Ho Chi Minh City's first metro line

ABO/NDO- A test run for Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1 from Suoi Tien Station to Binh Thai Station was conducted on December 21, marking a major milestone of the first metro line in Vietnam’s southern economic hub.

The event was attended by Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen and Japanese Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Watanabe Nobuhiro.

Ho Chi Minh City officials at the test run.

The test run involved a train with three cars, running a distance of 9 kilometres from Suoi Tien Station via National University Station, High-tech Park Station and Thu Duc Station to Binh Thai Station.

The test run marks the transition from construction to trial run in preparation for the line’s commercial service scheduled for the end of 2023.

The rolling stock of Line 1 consists of 17 three-car trains with blue livery, manufactured in Japan. Each train can carry up to 930 passengers and can run at the maximum speed of 110 kilometres per hour.

Line 1 has a total length of 20 kilometres, with 3 underground stations and 11 elevated stations.

Construction of the project began in 2012 and has a total cost of 43.7 trillion (1.84 billion USD), financed by Japanese official development assistance and Vietnamese counterpart funding. To date, the project is 93% complete.

(Source: NDO)