A second section of a tunnel for Saigon's first metro line was recently completed, flipping a new page in the development of the system.
In the latest chapter in the extended tale of Saigon's highly anticipated subway system, a second tunnel is now complete thanks to the Japanese Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) which began work in March this year, as reported by Tuoi Tre in Vietnamese.
On June 29, the Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) organized a ceremony celebrating the arrival of the gigantic drilling machine at its destination. Shimizu-Maeda has overseen the underground network's second tunnel since its inception.
The underground passage spans some 781 meters in length, covering a width of nearly seven meters, and is 12 meters below the surface. This means that save for its depth, it is identical to the first tunnel, which was finished in November last year. It now connects the expected Ba Son Station on Ton Duc Thang Street to the planned Opera House Station.
"In our 1B contracting package, which includes the Opera House and Ba Son stations, the TBM tunnels will be completed by 2019 in order to be in sync with other contracts. This will allow Line 1 (Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien) to be ready for commercial use," Duong Huu Hoa, the director of the line, told Nguoi Lao Dong in Vietnamese.
Saigoneer has partnered with Poll Town, a data and polling company, to give readers a chance to share their thoughts on select articles.
The poll ended early due to unexpected circumstances, however, the results from 147 votes show high anticipation for the metro service.
Most participants said they plan to use the metro when it was completed; however, only half said they would use it more than three times a week. The majority believe it will reduce congestion in Saigon and a large number believe it's a good alternative to riding bikes.
[Top photo via Tuoi Tre]
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