A model of a station on HCM City’s first bus rapid transit route. — Photo courtesy of UCCI

HCM CITY — The HCM City People's Committee has urged the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), the Management Board for Traffic Works Construction and Investment and relevant agencies to speed up implementation of the first bus rapid transit route (BRT No 1), which will connect with Metro Line No 1.

The BRT No 1 route will help users access the metro line when it opens, and will expand the use of public transport by city residents.

The BRT No 1 project was approved by the Prime Minister in 2013, with initial costs of nearly US$156 million. The cost was reduced to $143 million, with funding from Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the World Bank and the city’s State budget.

Construction began in 2014 and was initially expected to be completed in 2019, but the completion date has been extended to 2023.

The 29-km BRT No 1 will run along Võ Văn Kiệt - Mai Chí Thọ Highway, across the Sài Gòn River and connect with Hà Nội Highway.

It will pass through districts Bình Chánh, Bình Tân, 6, 5, 1 and 2, starting from the An Lạc Roundabout and ending at Cát Lái Intersection.

There will be about 30 buses using compressed natural gas (CNG) on the route, which will interchange with the proposed metro lines No 1, 2, 3A and 5.

This is one of six BRT routes planned by the city government.

The 19.7km metro line No 1 between Bến Thành Market in District 1 and Suối Tiên Theme Park in District 9 runs along the Hà Nội Highway.

The line is the first of planned eight metro lines in the city. It will have 14 stations, including three underground stations.

There will be 17 trains with three carriages each that will run at a maximum speed of 110km per hour above ground and 80km per hour below ground.

Eighty-five per cent of the project, worth more than VNĐ43.7 trillion ($1.9 billion), is expected to be completed by the end of this year. 

Construction is slated to finish by the end of 2021. The first three-carriage train for the line arrived from Japan in October and is being tested at Long Bình Depot in District 9.

The city’s Department of Transport is working with MAUR and relevant units to propose ticket rates for metro line No 1’s first stage of operation. — VNS