Metro line No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City was temporarily suspended twice, one time at Ba Son Station and the other at Tan Cang Station, due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, according to Phan Cong Bang, head of the Management Authority for Urban Railways of Ho Chi Minh City (MAUR), which oversees the metro line.

At a press conference held on Thursday to discuss the city’s socio-economic performance, Bang said the metro line has received positive feedback since it opened on December 22, 2024.  

The number of passengers using the metro has been increasing, especially during the recent Lunar New Year holiday.

Although the system is operating quite smoothly, some components are still being finalized, including platforms and the ticketing system, which is expected to be finished by May at the latest.

In its early days of operation, a few minor incidents occurred, mostly related to platforms, causing trains to temporarily halt for one to two minutes.

The operation team is gradually getting accustomed to the system. It has been stable since the Lunar New Year and trains are rarely delayed.

Regarding the temporary suspension of service, Bang said the first stoppage was mainly due to staff not being accustomed to operating the metro line in rainy weather conditions, while the second occurred because of a lightning strike affecting power lines.

According to the contractor, Hitachi from Japan, the design of metro trains in Japan did not take into account the high intensity lightning commonly seen in Vietnam.

As such, power is automatically cut for about a second when lightning strikes occur or the system is switched to manual operation to ensure safety.

The operation team has since held a meeting to document lessons from the incident and will implement quicker response measures for similar situations in the future.

Currently, under rainy conditions, the metro line operates in semi-automatic mode to ensure safety. This might cause lateness for one to two minutes, but the operation unit has committed to quickly adjusting to ensure the stable travel times for passengers.

According to Tran Dang Thanh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway No. 1 Co., Ltd., there are plans to coordinate with Hitachi to thoroughly address the remaining construction work of the project.

The company is currently adjusting the parameters of the train schedule and limiting train speeds on steep slopes during heavy downpours to ensure safety.

The company is cooperating with Mastercard to improve the automatic ticketing system, implement cashless payments, and allow for the use of bank cards and QR codes.

“We have installed 16 fiber optic cables from 14 stations to depots and the 5G system to increase processing speeds,” Thanh said.

For stations with long lines of passengers waiting to buy tickets, handheld ticket machines will be provided. The ticketing system will have additional features, integrating 24 types of tickets and bank cards, Thanh shared.

Metro line No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City opened to the public on December 22 after 12 years of construction, marking a historic milestone in the urban transport development of the southern metropolis.

The metro line spans 19.7 kilometers, from Ben Thanh in District 1 to Suoi Tien Coach Station in Thu Duc City, including 2.6 kilometers of underground railway and 17.1 kilometers of elevated track.

Operating daily from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm, the metro offers 200 trips per day, each taking approximately 30 minutes, with intervals between trains ranging from eight to 12 minutes.

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