The train parked at Long Bình depot. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — The Management Authority for Urban Railways of HCM City held a ceremony on Tuesday to receive the first train for the city’s Metro Line No 1 (Bến Thành - Suối Tiên).

The train will be tested at Long Bình Depot in District 9 – the repair and maintenance workshop – in the first quarter of next year before being moved to Bình Thái in the third quarter and to Tân Cảng in the fourth quarter of the year.

It will then be put into trial operation together with all other systems of the metro line, such as power, signal, and track systems.

The three-carriage train, one of the 17 for the urban railway, arrived at the city’s Khánh Hội Port on October 8 from Kasado Port in Japan.

The blue train is 61.5m in length, three metres wide, and four metres high, with a maximum speed of 110km/h. The seats inside are also blue. It can carry some 930 passengers, with 783 standing.

The inside of the passenger cabin of the Line No.1 metro train. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

Construction of the city’s first metro line between Bến Thành Market in District 1 and the Suối Tiên Theme Park in District 9 is expected to be completed within the next few months, with services to be underway by the end of next year.

It will have 14 stations, three of them underground. There will be 17 trains with three carriages each that will run at a maximum speed of 110km/h above ground and 80km/h below ground.

The US$2.05 billion line is the first of at least six to be built in the city.

Addressing the ceremony, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyễn Thành Phong asked the Management Authority as well as contractors and consultation agencies to work harder together to speed up project progress.

The city will create optimal conditions for Metro Line No 1 to be completed on schedule, he said, adding that the project will help deepen links between the city and Japan.

Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Yamada Takio said that despite the impact of COVID-19, the Vietnamese side has still managed to welcome technicians and experts from Japan to work on the project.

He expressed a belief that the project will contribute to improving traffic conditions in the city, helping to speed up socio-economic recovery after the pandemic. — VNS