Ben Thanh station on metro line No.1 in front of the iconic Ben Thanh Market (red roof, left foreground), will be one of three underground stations with the remaining 11 being elevated.
The four-level station, 32 meters deep and 236 meters long, will be completed in the second quarter next year.
The space in front of the market has been reopened for public use after being occupied by the construction site of the station for five years.
Work began on HCMC’s first metro route in August 2012. It was scheduled to be completed in six years. The line, to run 19.7km between Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc City, has carried with it high hopes of opening up a new mode of mass transportation and addressing people’s need to travel between the downtown area and the city's eastern gateway.
The highlight of the station is a 21.6-m skylight.
In this photo, workers are installing glass panels on the skylight.
To be situated close to the Opera House, another icon of HCMC, the second station, also underground, will also have four levels and go 33m into the ground.
Its construction is complete.
The underground tracks are almost ready. They will run 2.6km up to Ba Son station on Ton Duc Thang Street close to the Saigon River.
The trains are designed to run at a maximum speed of 80kph underground.
An elevated section of metro line No.1 that will run 17km in Thu Duc City.
It will comprise 372 viaduct spans.
Tan Cang Station in Binh Thanh District will be the largest elevated station. It will have a 6,200-sq.m roof made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic produced in Japan.
It will be 137m long and 32m high, is 93% complete and will be finished in the next quarter.
It will be the only station with four tracks since it will be connected with the proposed metro line No.5 in future.
Other elevated stations are quite similar with their roofs made of steel.
Most of these stations are more than 90% complete.
Laying of the tracks for the elevated section began in 2017.
They will allow trains to run at a maximum of 110kph.
The final station will be in front of the Mien Dong (southeastern) Bus Station in Thu Duc City from where passengers can travel to the southeastern and central regions.
The metro and coach stations are just next to Binh Duong Province and expected to boost regional connectivity, especially after a tunnel, overpass and footbridge are built there.
Not far from the final station is the Long Binh Depot, which was built in 2012. Spread over 20 hectares it will serve as a control center and maintenance yard for rolling stock.
Metro line No .1 is expected to cost over VND43.7 trillion (US$1.89 billion) and is funded by Japanese overseas development assistance and Vietnamese counterpart funds. The project has missed several deadlines and the latest reschedule has it becoming operational in the fourth quarter of next year.
There will be 17 Japanese-made trains in operation with a capacity of 930 passengers. Since August this year all 17 the trains are being tested at the Long Binh Depot.
One of the trains, seen in this photo, has been sent to Binh Thai Station in Thu Duc City for trial on an elevated section to be done on December 21 by Japanese contractor Hitachi.
It will take place on an 8km section, the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), which manages the project, has said. Photo by MAUR
