VIETNAM: Delivery of the first of 17 Hitachi trainsets for the metro line under construction in Ho Chi Minh City was marked with a ceremony on October 13.
Line 1 will run for 19·7 km between Ben Thanh Market in the central District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9 to the northeast, with 17·1 km of the route being elevated and 2·6 km underground. There will be 11 elevated and three underground stations.
The line is being built with Japanese Official Development Assistance funds and preferential loans. Hitachi is responsible for the supply of track, electrical and mechanical works and rolling stock under a ¥37bn contract signed in 2013, and Japanese experts are now providing staff training
Work on the 43·7tr dong project started in 2012, and is reported to be 77% complete. Opening of the line is now expected by the end of 2021.
The three-car aluminium-bodied trainset is 61·5 m long, with capacity for 147 seated and 783 standing passengers. It has been designed for driverless operation, able to run at a maxium speed of 110 km/h on the elevated sections of the line and 80 km/h in tunnel.
Delivery had been planned for earlier in the year, but was delayed because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Testing of the first trainset in the depot is now planned for Q1 2021, with trial running to Binh Thai station following by Q3 2021 and to Tan Cang station in Q4 once the line’s electrical and mechanical systems have been completed.
