HCM City’s metro train set for test run

The pilot run for Metro Line No. 1 will be carried out on a section of more than eight kilometres in Thu Duc city, it said.

The trial run by Japanese contractor Hitachi will mark the first time that a train will go on a test run on the line, which runs 19.7km between Ben Thanh market in district 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in Thu Duc city.

The test run will have the participation of the project's contractor - Hitachi - along with the Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam, the Consul General of Japan, representatives of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and leaders of the People's Committee of HCM City, Thu Duc city and relevant departments.

The elevated section is designed for trains to run at a speed of 110 kilometres per hour (kph) but for the test run the train will start at a speed of 5kph and gradually reach 20kph.

During the test, the train will also stop to pick up and drop off passengers, either at the Suoi Tien or Binh Thai stations.

The first metro line has 17 Japanese-made trains, each with a capacity to hold 930 passengers and each train can travel up to 110 kph above ground and 80 kph underground.

All 17 trains have been tested at Long Binh depot in Thu Duc city since August.

Metro line No. 1 is expected to cost over 43.7 trillion VND (1.89 billion USD) and is funded by Japanese overseas development assistance and Vietnamese counterpart funds.