After many years of waiting, Bangkok’s brand new Gold Line finally opened on December 16 2020, the newest addition to the city’s expanding family of electric train lines. By most estimations, Bangkok will boast around 450km of them by 2025 (subject to the shifting whims of Thai politics). Not bad for a city that, until […]
metro
Ho Chi Minh City Metro 2020 construction update
Ho Chi Minh City is in the process of building its first metro line in a planned 9-line system of metro, light rail, and monorails. As part of the Living In Asia annual construction report series, this article refers to developments over the past year. Here is the 2020 construction update for the approved lines […]
Hanoi Metro 2020 construction update
Hanoi has two metro lines under construction, and when completed they will be the first urban railways in Vietnam. Both lines were due to be open by now, but there have been years of delays that have kept the lines from opening. It’s been a frustrating wait for Hanoians (and regular visitors like myself) to […]
Chiang Mai Mass Transit
Greater Chiang Mai has a population close to one million people, making it the second biggest urban area in Thailand after Bangkok. With a growing urban area beyond the core of Mueang Chiang Mai District, there have been numerous plans over the years to build some form mass transit. what form of railway has changed […]
Comparison of cost and construction times of first metro lines in Asia
The first metro lines of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are under construction, and like most first lines of a metro system, they are delayed and over budget. Line 2A of the Hanoi Metro was originally planned to be operational by 2016, while the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City had an […]
Construction projects near Line 1 Ho Chi Minh City Metro
The first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City has been under construction since 2012, and it was scheduled to be completed in 2018. After a number of delays and cost blowouts, Line 1 is tentatively scheduled to open in 2021. Line 1 is 19.7 km long and will have 14 stations, from Ben Thanh […]
Ho Chi Minh City Metro Concept Map
If Saigon had a subway like Shanghai In 2012 Ho Chi Minh City began the first of nine planned transit lines (6 metro, 2 monorail, and 1 light rail). Line 1 is under construction, with Line 2 having briefly started before it stalled. The other lines are so far off from starting that there is […]
