HCMC Metro welcomes 'huge' number of passengers

TP - After 1 week of official operation, HCMC Metro Line 1 has served 707,000 passengers, exceeding the plan by more than 270%. On weekends, the number of passengers skyrocketed, causing overload at Ben Thanh Central Station (District 1).

TP - After 1 week of official operation, HCMC Metro Line 1 has served 707,000 passengers, exceeding the plan by more than 270%. On weekends, the number of passengers skyrocketed, causing overload at Ben Thanh Central Station (District 1).

Thousands of people lined up

On the afternoon of December 29, at the Ben Thanh central underground station (District 1), reporters recorded thousands of people lining up to experience the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro train. This is the eighth day of the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City being officially operated and exploited.

HCMC Metro welcomed more than 700,000 passengers after 1 week of operation. Photo: Huu Huy

Sharing with reporters, Mr. Do Minh Khoa (living in District 11) said that because it was the weekend, he took the opportunity to take his father to try the metro train. “My father has heard about this project for a long time, last week when he heard that the train was officially running, he wanted to try it. But when we arrived, we saw a lot of people waiting in line, we couldn't wait so we had to go home. During the week, because I was busy with work, it was not until this Sunday that we could take my father on the train. However, when we got to Ben Thanh station, we saw a lot of people waiting in line, we had to wait more than 1 hour to line up and get off the train" - Mr. Khoa said.

According to Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC1, the operator), in the 7 days since the official operation of Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line No. 1, there have been more than 1,340 trains operating, serving more than 707,000 passengers. Passenger figures on Sunday have not been fully updated, but the day before, December 28 (Saturday), there were more than 175,000 passengers on the metro, exceeding the plan by 450%. This number has broken the record for the highest number of passengers on the first day of official operation (on December 22, there were nearly 150,000 passengers).

“The reason for the increase in passengers is because December 28 is a weekend. The first day of operation was Sunday, there were many people lining up but had not had the opportunity to experience it. On weekdays, many people are busy going to school or work. Therefore, this weekend, many people took advantage of the day off to experience it, causing the number of passengers to skyrocket. The company has mobilized maximum human resources along with volunteers to support people to travel by train safely and conveniently,” said a representative of HURC1.

An officer operating Metro Line 1 in Ho Chi Minh City said that during peak days, due to the large number of passengers, the opening/closing times at stations are longer than expected, causing some trains to be delayed compared to the schedule. "This will affect the journey of the following trains. To ensure a safe distance, the following trains will have to move slower than planned," the officer said.

People are excited to experience the HCMC metro. Photo: Huu Huy

HURC1 said that according to the ordering plan and time chart provided by the HCMC Department of Transport, it is estimated that metro line No. 1 will welcome 27,257 passengers on the first day of operation, and the remaining days are expected to welcome 38,939 passengers/day. Thus, in the first 7 days of operation, metro line No. 1 HCMC has welcomed more than 270% more passengers than planned.

Mr. Le Minh Triet, Director of HURC1, said: “The number of 150,000 passengers on the first day of operation and recently 175,000 passengers on the weekend (December 28) is very large. This is a positive signal, a sign of improvement for public transport in the near future.”

According to the representative of HURC1, the number of passengers using the metro as a means of transportation to go to school, work, go sightseeing... is increasing. In addition, passengers have started using the metro to travel from the city center to the new Eastern Bus Station in Thu Duc and vice versa. This shows that the metro is gradually serving the new Eastern Bus Station, gradually solving the transportation needs of the city's residents, contributing to solving traffic congestion.

“We expect that in a short time, the metro will form new travel habits for people. Regarding the facilities around the stations, the company has also cooperated with the Public Transport Management Center to connect vehicles, helping passengers travel most conveniently,” said Mr. Triet.

Timely troubleshooting

During the first days of operation, a train on Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1 had to temporarily stop operating for 10 minutes at Ba Son Station (District 1) on the evening of December 26 to check the signal. By the afternoon of December 27, due to the impact of heavy rain combined with thunderstorms and lightning, the electrical safety protection system of the entire Metro Line 1 was activated.

Mr. Phan Cong Bang, Head of the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board, said that the train numbered 1700 that stopped at Ba Son station on the evening of December 26 departed from Suoi Tien Bus Station to Ben Thanh Station. At 6:30 p.m., the train stopped at Ba Son station. During the inspection, the train control department noticed that some details in the signal were not in accordance with the operating procedures and technical instructions.

“Since this is a new phase of train operation, to ensure absolute safety for passengers, staff and vehicles, the operator has consulted with the Urban Railway Management Board and HURC1 to decide to temporarily stop the train to coordinate with the contractor HITACHI to organize inspection and evaluation. After about 10 minutes of inspection, the relevant units decided to allow the train to operate again,” said Mr. Bang.

Regarding the activation of the electrical safety system on the afternoon of December 27, a representative of HURC1 said that immediately after the system was activated, the Urban Railway Management Board and the unit decided to temporarily suspend the train schedule, bring the train back to the stations to ensure passenger safety and at the same time inspect the entire system of the line. After checking and finding no abnormalities, the relevant units decided to allow the train to operate normally again.

“Due to the initial phase of operation, the decision to stop and review the entire system according to the process is extremely necessary to ensure absolute safety. However, this affects and causes delays for passengers. We look forward to receiving feedback from passengers. We will serve with all our heart for the safety and convenience of passengers,” said a representative of HURC1.

During the first 30 days of commercial operation of Metro Line 1, Ho Chi Minh City will offer free tickets to all passengers. After that time, one-way tickets will cost from 7,000 to 20,000 VND/person, depending on the distance traveled. In addition, there are 1-day tickets priced at 40,000 VND, 3-day tickets priced at 90,000 VND and monthly tickets priced at 300,000 VND (general passengers), 150,000 VND (students).

Source: https://tienphong.vn/metro-tphcm-don-luong-khach-khung-post1705117.tpo