HCMC starts trial run across entire route of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line

A train of Ho Chi Minh City's metro line no.1 started a test run along the entire route including both underground and overhead sections, starting from Suoi Tien Bus Station to Ben Thanh Central Station and vice versa this morning.

The Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) of Ho Chi Minh City was in coordination with NJPT, the consulting unit of HCMC's first metro line project together with Japanese consulting units to perform the trial run.

This was an important event marking a new milestone in the project implementation since the MAUR launched a trial run in Long Binh Depot, Thu Duc City.

From the beginning of the year up to now, the MAUR, the consulting units and the contractors have well collaborated to implement the project with trial runs and installation of the remaining system and equipment such as the power supply system, telecommunications system, signal system, overhead power supply system, tunnel ventilation system and so on for the entire metro line no.1.

According to the MAUR, the trial run in underground sections is the most difficult phase because the contractors had to perform construction works and trial operation at the same time in narrow space, poor lighting and ventilation and inconvenient communications compared with overhead sections.

In the tunnels, the integration of systems would be more and more complicated than open spaces, especially ventilation system and cooling system. Besides, safety and rescue systems, security and safety devices in the tunnels were also much more diverse.

From April 2023, relevant sides have accelerated the project progress to basically complete items and switch to the phases of trial operation and exploitation serving for the metro system’s safety assessment.

In the upcoming time, the MAUR will collaborate with Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways No.1 Company Limited along with contractors and consulting units to offer training courses on operation and maintenance works.

The trial operation is separated into various phases including static testing, dynamic testing, interface testing and integration testing and so on.

From the end of 2022 up to now, the metro line no.1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro route project) has experienced times of trial operation in Long Binh Depot, each overhead section, especially in the 12.3-kilometer long route from Suoi Tien Bus Station to An Phu Station, Thu Duc City.

Each train of metro line no.1’s train consists of three wagon with a total length of 61.5 meters and a maximum capacity of 930 passengers, comprising 174 sitting guests and 738 standing guests.

The maximum speed for overhead sections is 110 kilometers per hour and 80 kilometers an hour for underground sections. The metro train will take around 29 minutes to go from Ben Thanh Central Station to Suoi Tien Station.

The metro line no.1 has a total of 14 stations comprising Ben Thanh, Saigon Opera House, Ba Son, Van Thanh, New Port, Thao Dien, An Phu, Rach Chiec, Phuoc Long, Binh Thai, Thu Duc, Saigon Hi-tech Park, Ho Chi Minh City National University and Suoi Tien.

There are some photos of the trial run across the entire route of HCMC's metro line no.1 this morning (Photo: Hoang Hung)

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