HCMC metro line takes possession of six train cars

The cars, belonging to the 8th and 9th trains of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line, were transported from the Kasado factory in Japan to HCMC’s Khanh Hoi Port in District 4.

They would be transported to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City on Dec. 10 and Dec. 13 for assembly. Each car spans 21 meters and weighs 37 tons.

The metro line's investor, the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), said six more cars for the 10th and 11th trains are also on their way to HCMC. The ship carrying them is expected to dock on Wednesday, with the cars taken to Long Binh Depot for assembly on Dec. 15 and Dec. 17.

The cars would include train driving simulators for training and testing purposes, MAUR added.

With the additional cars, 11 trains out of the line’s 17 have arrived in Vietnam. The trains are designed with a maximum speed of 110 kph on elevated sections and 80 kph underground. Each train has three cars and is capable of carrying 930 passengers.

The trains at Long Binh Depot are expected to conduct test runs in the first quarter of 2022.

HCMC’s first metro line costs over VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion) and spans around 20 kilometers, starting from Ben Thanh Station in District 1 to Long Binh Depot. It has three underground and 11 elevated stations. The project was supposed to be completed at the end of 2021 and enter commercial operations in 2022, but was delayed due to impacts of the pandemic and other factors.

The project is now 88 percent complete and is expected to finish at the end of 2023.