Saigon metro depot readies after receiving all 17 trains

The last among 17 trains of the Ho Chi Minh City's Metro Line No. 1 was put on track in Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City on May 9.

The last two trains for the metro line arrived in HCMC from Japan last week.

All 17 trains of the line are made in Japan. The first arrived in October, 2020.

Each comprises three cars to carry 930 passengers at most. Each car is 21 meters long, four meters high, and weighs 37 tons.

Nguyen Quoc Hien, deputy head of the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), the project investor, said the arrival of the last two trains means the project has entered a new phase and is ready for testing.

Barriers of two meters high are established along the tracks to ensure safety.

The overhead power transmission system for the metro line has basically been completed.

MAUR said earlier this year that trains would run on a trial scheme along separate sections of the line before hitting the entire route by this year’s end.

In August, it will run from Thu Duc to Binh Thanh District and then complete the entire route, to District 1’s Ben Thanh Market, before Dec. 31.

Surrounding the depot are cable gutters serving the overhead power transmission system.

The parking area has 30 tracks. Each has a water drainage trench running alongside.

Next to the parking lot is the main factory area that spreads over 4,000 square meters to maintain and repair trains.

The facility for milling train wheels.

The train cleaning yard.

Workers put the final touches to the depot, including work on the power transmission and lighting systems.

An aerial view of Long Binh Depot. Built in 2012, it spreads over 20 hectares to serve as a control center and maintenance yard for trains.

Metro Line No .1 costs over VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion) and spans around 20 kilometers. It has three underground and 11 elevated stations. The project was supposed to be completed at the end of 2021 and enter commercial operations in 2022, but was delayed until now.

The project is more than 90 percent complete and expected to be finished for commercial operation at the end of 2023.