HCM City speeds up work on first bus rapid transit route

A model of a station on HCM City’s first bus rapid transit route (Photo courtesy of UCCI)

HCM City - The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has urged the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), the Management Board for Traffic Works Construction and Investment and relevant agencies to speed up implementation of the first bus rapid transit route (BRT No 1), which will connect with Metro Line No 1.

The BRT No 1 route will help users access the metro line when it opens, and will expand the use of public transport by city residents.

The BRT No 1 project was approved by the Prime Minister in 2013, with initial costs of nearly 156 million USD. The cost was reduced to 143 million USD, with funding from Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the World Bank and the city’s State budget.

Construction began in 2014 and was initially expected to be completed in 2019, but the completion date has been extended to 2023.

The 29-km BRT No 1 will run along Vo Van Kiet - Mai Chi Tho Highway, across the Sai Gon River and connect with Hanoi Highway.

It will pass through districts Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, 6, 5, 1 and 2, starting from the An Lac Roundabout and ending at Cat Lai Intersection.

There will be about 30 buses using compressed natural gas (CNG) on the route, which will interchange with the proposed metro lines No 1, 2, 3A and 5.

This is one of six BRT routes planned by the city government.

The 19.7km metro line No 1 between Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9 runs along the Hanoi Highway.

The line is the first of planned eight metro lines in the city. It will have 14 stations, including three underground stations.

There will be 17 trains with three carriages each that will run at a maximum speed of 110km per hour above ground and 80km per hour below ground.

Eighty-five percent of the project, worth more than 43.7 trillion VND (1.9 billion USD), is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Construction is slated to finish by the end of 2021. The first three-carriage train for the line arrived from Japan in October and is being tested at Long Binh Depot in District 9.

The city’s Department of Transport is working with MAUR and relevant units to propose ticket rates for metro line No 1’s first stage of operation.