On April 1, Mr. Le Minh Triet, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways No.1 Company Limited (HURC1), announced that according to the latest operational plan, the Metro Line No.1 from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien is expected to commence operations with seven train sets from early July until September 30, 2024.
Specifically, during Phase 1, from July 1 to September 30, the company will operate seven train sets, consisting of three carriages each, running continuously from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The interval between trips will be ten minutes.
During Phase 2, from October 1 to December 31, operations will involve 12 train sets on weekdays, with service hours extending from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and a frequency of 8-10 minutes per trip. Metro Line No. 1 will run nine train sets with a similar operational schedule on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
In Phase 3, from January 1, 2025, Metro Line No. 1 will operate at its designed capacity based on the actual operational experience gained in 2024.
The Metro Line No.1 spans 19.7km, with 2.6km underground and 17.1km elevated, passing through District 1, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City), and Di An (Binh Duong Province). The project's total investment, after adjustments, stands at VND43.7 trillion.
The Metro Line No.1 has three underground stations: Ben Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City Opera House, and Ba Son; and 11 elevated stations: Van Thanh, Tan Cang, Thao Dien, An Phu, Rach Chiec, Phuoc Long, Binh Thai, Thu Duc, Saigon High-tech Park, Ho Chi Minh City National University, and Suoi Tien Bus Station.
Currently, the project has achieved 97 percent of its total volume.
Earlier, the Prime Minister issued a decision approving the adjustment of the investment policy for Metro Line No.1, pushing back the completion timeline to the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 with a commitment to no additional costs. However, the Management Authority for Urban Railway of Ho Chi Minh City (the investor) has proposed delaying the commencement of commercial operations until July of this year.
