People in Ho Chi Minh City are eagerly talking about their first metro ride experience as many residents have had a chance to take part in the trial rides of metro line No. 1 before its official operation on December 22.

There will be around 200 trips per day during the trial run that will last until December 21, according to the line’s operating unit – Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC1).

The operating time is from 5:00 am to 10:30 pm every day.

The trains run on the entire route stretching nearly 20 kilometers from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien and vice versa. 

Every trip takes nearly 30 minutes, plus the stop time at each station of about 30 seconds.

The interval between two trips is from eight to 12 minutes.

Talking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper’s reporters, a representative of the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) said that it and relevant agencies are completing final procedures so that the line can be put into commercial operation as scheduled.

Passengers are seen traveling on a train of the Ho Chi Minh City’s metro line No. 1. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

On December 11, the board notified on its Facebook page that it will offer 100-200 free tickets per day, except on December 14 due to an internal inspection.

Local residents have immediately registered to join the trip.

The board has also provided free tickets for some groups from public agencies and social organizations in Ho Chi Minh City.

As noted by Tuoi Tre reporters, metro line No. 1 ran on the entire route through 14 stations from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien on Sunday morning, with hundreds of residents, including students and children, being the first passengers.

Linh Nhi, residing in Go Vap District, said “I have once experienced the metro in other countries, but this is the first time that I have taken a metro trip in my hometown.” 

“The infrastructure, train, and equipment are generally convenient and clean.

“However, the utility services at the stations have yet to be completed,” she added.

Metro line No. 1, the first of the city’s eight planned urban railway projects, broke ground in August 2012 with a total investment of VND43,700 billion (US$1.72 billion), most of which comes from Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) loans, according to MAUR.

The line is 19.7 kilometers long, including 2.6 kilometers of underground railway and 17.1 kilometers of elevated track.

The line has 17 trains, each of which consists of three carriages that can accommodate a total 930 passengers including 147 sitting and 783 standing. 

The train can run at a maximum speed of 110 kph on the elevated section and 80 kph on the underground part.

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