On February 23, Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Company Limited No. 1 (HURC) said that in 7 days of the 2026 Lunar New Year (from February 16 to February 22, i.e. December 29 to the end of the 6th day of Tet), Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) served 571,528 passengers.
This figure exceeded 42% compared to the set plan and reached 94.4% compared to the same period in 2025. During the above period, the metro line operated 1,801 train trips, reaching 100% of the plan, an increase of 39% compared to the same period last year.
Notably, the number of visitors tended to increase sharply from the 2nd to the 5th day of Tet and remained at a high level. On February 21, 2026 alone (the 5th day of Tet), 96,320 visitors were recorded - the highest level in the first 6 days of service at the beginning of the year.
According to HURC, this development quite clearly reflects people's travel needs during Tet. On the 29th of Tet, the number of visitors decreased because people prioritized family reunions. From the early days of the year, travel demand gradually increased to serve spring travel, entertainment, sightseeing activities and peaked on the 5th day of Tet.
In terms of payment methods, the habit of not using cash continues to prevail. About 71.8% of passengers pay in cash; 23.2% pay in cash and about 5% use citizen identification cards (CCCD) to travel by train.
On this occasion, Metro Line 1 also implements a free ticket program for 2 days including the 29th of Tet (February 16, 2026) and the 1st day of Tet (February 17, 2026), creating conditions for people to experience modern public transport in the first days of the new year.
Metro Line 1 is the first urban railway line of Ho Chi Minh City, nearly 20 km long, connecting the central area with the eastern gateway of the city.
After officially being put into operation from December 22, 2024, Metro Line 1 quickly attracted a large number of people to use.
To date, Metro Line 1 has served more than 22 million passengers, making an important contribution to reducing road traffic pressure and gradually forming the habit of using public transport in Ho Chi Minh City.
