Last week, the Saigon Metro project took a major step in realizing many Saigoneers’ long-awaited dream of experiencing their own urban railway line.
On December 21, the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) organized the first test run of Metro Line 1 with passengers. MAUR staff was joined by city officials, journalists, and some lucky locals living in the vicinity.
The maiden trip did not cover the entirety of the line, only spanning five above-ground stations including Suối Tiên, Vietnam National University-HCMC, Saigon Hi-Tech Park, Thủ Đức and Bình Thái.
The test-run stretch was 9 kilometers long with the train running at 40 km/h; the designed speed is 110 km/h for the above-ground section of the line and 80 km/h for the underground portion.
Following the December pilot, MAUR shared that progress on Metro Line 1 has reached 93.56%. This pilot session marked the beginning of Phase 5 and 6 of eight phases in testing, which will be conducted for most of 2023 to prepare for an end-of-the-year launch.
In August, MAUR arranged a test run for its trains at the Long Bình Depot. Earlier this year, all 17 trains to be used on this line arrived from Japan; it’s estimated that 14 of them will serve the track when the line is finished.
Metro Line 1 will feature 14 stations, connecting northeastern suburbs with downtown Saigon across nearly 20 kilometers of railway. Metro services are expected to operate from 5am to 11:30pm daily, with 4 minutes 30 seconds between trains.
[Photo via Thanh Niên]
