The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has instructed the city’s Urban Railway Management Board to take measures to address lingering difficulties in Metro Line No. 1 and begin a trial run of the route on April 30 before putting it into official operation in July.

The line runs for 19.7 km between Ben Thanh Station in District 1 and Suoi Tien Depot in Thu Duc city. It has 14 stations, including eleven elevated and three underground.

It allows a maximum speed of 110 kph on elevated sections and 80 kph on underground sections.

This is the first of eight metro lines planned for the southern city, and has total investment of VND43.7 trillion ($1.82 billion).

Construction began in 2012 and over 96 per cent of work has been completed, according to the Urban Railway Management Board.

The line has undergone three trial runs, in 2022 and 2023.