A train of Bến Thành - Suối Tiên metro line. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Metro Line 1 (Bến Thành-Suối Tiên) in HCM City is expected to start commercial operation in October this year, according to the HCM City’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

Nguyễn Quốc Hiền, deputy head of MAUR - the investor of the project, said 98 per cent of the workload on the metro line has been completed and six task groups to prepare for the official operation of the urban metro line are underway.

A training group of the HCM City Urban Railways No. 1 Company Limited, which will be responsible for operating and managing Metro Line 1, has recruited 400 employees for training to serve the operation of the metro line. The employees have completed theoretical lessons and a number of them have been sent to Japan for training.

Regarding testing work, since Metro Line 1 adopts entirely Japanese technology and standards, and testing must comply with Vietnamese laws, this process is being implemented in multiple steps. Seven trains will be operated in trial in July by Vietnamese personnel after the training work is finished.

Meanwhile, the system safety evaluation team has completed 50 per cent of the workload. Consultants from France and Việt Nam have evaluated the quality of Metro Line 1 as good, with meticulous documentation management. The assessment will continue throughout the trial period.

As for legal corridor for the metro's operation, MAUR is coordinating with relevant departments and sectors to conduct related work such as regulations regarding operation, management, and ticket, among others, to be completed in the second quarter.

For the acceptance work, the authority is working with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Construction on five acceptance items such as registration, safety, the environment, fire prevention, and overall construction.

Hiền said the full-line test run is scheduled to be completed in late September.

The Bến Thành-Suối Tiên metro line runs 19.7 km between District 1's Bến Thành Market and Thủ Đức city's Long Thành Depot with three underground stations and 11 elevated ones.

Work on the metro project started in 2012 and has experienced various delays. Its costs have risen to over VNĐ43.7 trillion (US$1.77 billion). — VNS