Progress on Saigon's Metro Line 1 is moving into the human resources and training phase.

Theoretical and practical training will be given at the Vietnam Railway College, with Japanese experts stepping in to lead advanced lessons and supervise the driving of the actual trains. Ten of the highest-performing candidates will then travel to Japan to learn about "the operations of an urban railway company, among other things," according to a representative from the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

Each person who successfully completes the training will receive metro train driving licenses by December 2021, when the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line is expected to open. Estimated wages have not been made public at the time of writing. Of the 58 candidates set to undertake the 15-month training course, 57 are male, and one is female.

The Hanoi-based Vietnam Railway College was established in 1955 and has branches in Da Nang and Binh Duong. Since 2018, it has trained 600 workers for Hanoi’s Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line and currently, another 500 are being prepared to operate Hanoi’s Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station metro line. Because the Hanoi lines are under the supervision of Chinese contractors, Chinese experts provided additional practice, and some even went abroad to train in China.

Meanwhile, other aspects related to Saigon's metro have experienced delays thanks to the global pandemic. Foreign engineers have largely been unable to enter the country to supervise the work on the line and the deadline for the deliveries of the trains themselves is unknown because of disruptions in global shipping. 

[Photo by Dau Tien Dat via Thanh Nien]