(VOVWORLD) -A historical milestone was marked in urban transport development of Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday when its first metro line was inaugurated at Ben Thanh central station, District 1.
 Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line) officially operates. Photo: VOV |
The 19.7km long metro line passes through District 1, Binh Thanh District, and Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City) and Di An City (Binh Duong Province), of which 2.6km is underground and more than 17.1km is elevated.
At the opening ceremony attended by about 200 guests, Bui Xuan Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said that Metro Line 1 is not only a modern project but also a symbol of the city's growth and aspirations. The project, a milestone in realizing the public transport system, will ease traffic pressure and environmental pollution. In the next phase, Ho Chi Minh City will focus on investing in the coordinated urban railway network to build the city into a modern and civilized urban area.
 Delegates attending the official launch ceremony of metro line 1. Photo: VOV |
Initially, Metro Line 1 runs from 5am to 10pm daily. It has nine trains, each train can carry up to 930 people. The interval between trains is 8-12 minutes. There will be a total of 200 trips per day. The travel time from Ben Thanh Station to Suoi Tien Station is 29 minutes.
During the first 30 days, passengers will travel for free. Then, Metro Line 1 will sell tickets at prices ranging from 6,000 VND (0.25 USD) to 20,000 (0.84 USD) depending on the route.
Metro Line 1 project is researched and funded by Japan. It was approved in 2007 and construction officially started in August 2012. The project has a total investment of more than 1.8 billion USD.