THE first metro line opened in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest urban centre, on December 22 from Ben Thanh in the city centre to Suoi Tien in the northeast.
Passengers can travel on Line 1 free-of-charge until January 21. Trains are operating at 4.5-minute headways and services run from 05.00 until 23.30.
Construction of the line started as long ago as 2012. The 19.7km Line 1 has 14 stations. The 2.6km section in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City is underground with the remaining 17.1km elevated.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) provided 83% of the funding for $US 2.5bn project, with the rest contributed by the city government.
Japanese contractors partnered with Vietnamese firms to build the line. Nippon Koei Group acted as the main designer and consultant, with the elevated sections built by a joint venture of Sumitomo, Japan, and Cienco 6, Vietnam. The underground section was built by a Japanese joint venture of Shimizu and Maeda.
The 17 three-car trains that are operating on Line 1 were ordered from Hitachi in 2013. Hitachi also supplied electrical and mechanical systems, together with signalling and telecommunications, platform screen doors, an automatic fare collection system, trackwork and depot facilities at a 21ha site at Long Binh.
Construction of the 11.3km Line 2/Yellow is underway and should open by 2030. The line will connect Ben Thanh with Tham Luong in the northwest.
Plans for three extensions to the network were announced earlier this year with an estimated cost of $US 5bn. These comprise a 6km eastern extension to Line 2/Yellow to Thu Thiem, the 11km Line 3a, and Line 5 Phase 1, which would be 9km long.
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