Head of HCMC metro department talks about the reason for the train's emergency stop

TPO - HCMC Metro Line 1 has had to temporarily suspend operations due to weather and technical problems. The investor expects that all problems arising related to the barrier gate signal system will be resolved by March 30.

TPO - HCMC Metro Line 1 has had to temporarily suspend operations due to weather and technical problems. The investor expects that all problems arising related to the barrier gate signal system will be resolved by March 30.

The above information was shared by Mr. Phan Cong Bang - Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board at a press meeting on January 17.

Accordingly, Mr. Phan Cong Bang said that since its official commercial operation, urban railway line No. 1 (metro No. 1: Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) has had a very large number of passengers. In particular, on New Year's Day, January 1, 2025, the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City transported more than 275,000 passengers, and the stations were always packed with people waiting for the train.

“In the beginning, metro line 1 operated relatively well. However, there were some incidents that led to emergency train stops,” said Mr. Bang.

Head of HCMC metro department talks about the reason for the train's emergency stop photo 1

Mr. Phan Cong Bang – Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board. Photo: Huu Huy

Regarding the cause, the leader of the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board said that Metro Line 1 has construction and equipment packages. Of which, CP3 package (purchase of electromechanical equipment, locomotives, carriages, and rails) was won by the Japanese company Hitachi, with the contract starting in December 2012. However, the main items such as electromechanical equipment, locomotives, and carriages will begin installation at the end of 2020.

By the time of operation, it had been installed for 3-4 years. The production and installation were carried out in accordance with Japanese standards because Vietnam did not have standards for urban railways. Due to the different conditions of the two countries, after more than 4 years, under the impact of hot and humid weather, fine dust in the air as high as in Ho Chi Minh City, when put into operation, there were certain errors such as some platform barrier door equipment was not yet optimally completed.

Specifically, according to Mr. Bang, the current barrier signal is too "sensitive", sometimes just a drop of rain will be recognized by the reader and automatically closed. Due to the different natural conditions of Japan and Ho Chi Minh City, relevant units are researching to make the reader suitable for the actual situation.

“We have previously assessed this issue during the trial operation, and the acceptance was also carried out conditionally for the contractor. Before March 30, all errors related to the barrier gate signal system will be fixed,” said Mr. Bang.

Head of HCMC metro department talks about the reason for the train's emergency stop photo 2

People waiting for the HCMC metro train. Photo: Duy Anh

Also according to Mr. Phan Cong Bang, on the afternoon of December 27, heavy rain and thunder at Tan Cang station caused the metro line No. 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien to temporarily stop operating. In this situation, the metro's electrical safety system can automatically activate and can restore itself. However, according to the recommendations of the consultant and contractor, in the first phase, priority should be given to manual operation to ensure safety (after the lightning strike, check everything again, and when safety is ensured, continue operating). Therefore, this takes more time and interrupts operations.

"The Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board will continue to closely coordinate with relevant units to carefully inspect and evaluate each system error, and commit to thoroughly correcting it within a maximum of 6 months from the time the system error is known," said Mr. Bang.