Ho Chi Minh City has launched its first metro line after 17 years of planning and delays, with thousands of excited residents flocking to ride the metro.The $1.7bn, 20km project, mostly funded by Japanese loans,

After years of funding shortages, ballooning costs and bureaucratic foot-dragging, Ho Chi Minh City is opening the first metro line to serve its 10 million residents. On Sunday, huge queues spilled out of every station along the US$1.

Thousands of selfie-taking Ho Chi Minh City residents crammed into train carriages Sunday as the traffic-clogged business hub celebrated the opening of its first-ever metro line after years of delays.

The Metro Line No. 1 of Ho Chi Minh City running from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien will be open for free for one month after its official inauguration ceremony on December 22. In the following days, the stations are open from 5am to 10pm. every day, with trains running every 8 to 12 minutes. There are 31 bus routes connecting to the Metro Line No. 1.

Years of start-and-stop construction means the seemingly new ticket vending machines are partly obsolete: they accept coins that are no longer in circulation.

The Ho Chi Minh Union of Friendship Organizations (HUFO) on December 23 held a gathering to mark 66th National Liberation Day of Cuba (January 1, 1959 - 2025) and the 64th anniversary of the Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relations (December 2,