On July 31, the Facebook page of HCMC METRO, operated by the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board in Vietnam, revealed the Ben Thanh underground station, part of the Metro Line 1 project (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien). This station is described as the largest underground station in the metro system, covering a total area of 18,000 square meters, with a depth of 30 meters, a width of 60 meters, and a length of 236 meters. It will serve as a key interchange for Metro Line 2 (Ben Thanh – Tham Luong), Metro Line 3 (Ben Thanh – Tan Kien), and Metro Line 4 (Ben Thanh – Thanh Xuan). Metro Line 1 is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to additional reports, the construction of Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) began in August 2014 and spans 19.7 kilometers. It includes 11 elevated stations and 3 underground stations, connecting the iconic Ben Thanh Market in central Ho Chi Minh City to the Suoi Tien amusement park in the eastern part of the city. The route passes key landmarks such as the Saigon Opera House, Vincom Mega Mall, the Hi-Tech Industrial Park, several higher education institutions, and the Mien Dong (Eastern) Bus Station.
The line features standard gauge tracks of 1.435 meters, with 17 train sets manufactured by Hitachi in Japan. Each train set is 19.5 meters long, capable of reaching speeds of 80-110 kilometers per hour, and can carry up to 930 passengers, with 147 seats available per train. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and rising construction costs have delayed the commercial launch of the Ho Chi Minh City metro. VN Express reported in April 2024 that the Metro Authority announced a postponement to the fourth quarter of 2024, from the initially planned opening in July 2024.
Currently, Vietnam has one operational metro line, the Cat Linh – Ha Dong Line, in the capital city of Hanoi.
