A train for HCM City’s Metro Line No.1 being unloaded from the ship. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — Four more trains for HCM City’s Metro Line No.1 (Bến Thành-Suối Tiên) are arriving in Khánh Hội Port this week, according to the HCM City Urban Railway Management Board.

The delivery means the line will now have a total of 11 trains. They will be transported to Long Bình depot in Thủ Đức City for assembling in the next 10 days.

A ship carrying two of the trains left Japan on November 20 and was expected to dock in Khánh Hội Port on November 28. However, the arrival was delayed due to bad weather conditions.

Meanwhile, another ship with the 10th and 11th trains on board left Japan on November 24 and is likely to reach Khánh Hội Port on Wednesday.

Two trains were unloaded today and the rest set for Wednesday, before being placed on the railway from December 10-17.

Hoàng Mai Tùng, vice director of the board, said that the progress of the project was being sped up after being affected by COVID-19.

So far, the project is 88.22 per cent complete. In 2022, the board will import the remaining trains for the project. There will be a total of 17.

Since the first train arrived in the city in October 2020, Japanese contractors have sent seven trains to the city.

All 17 trains are designed to serve up to 930 passengers each, with 147 seats. They can run at a speed of 110km per hour on elevated rail and 80km per hour on underground rail.

The 19.7-km line No.1 is the first of at least six to be built in the city and aims to ease traffic congestion in its north-eastern gateway.

With four major bidding packages using official development assistance and funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the project is designed to have 14 stations, three of them underground.  — VNS