Urban Railway Line No. 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) - Vietnam's first metro line managed and operated by Urban Railway Company Limited No. 1 (HURC) has just been named at the Nikkei Excellent Product and Service Award 2025.
This is an award organized by Nikkei (Japan's largest financial newspaper), to honor typical products and services in Asia with positive social impacts, innovation and sustainable development values.
On February 2nd, the Organizing Committee will officially award prizes to Metro Line 1.
Participating in the award, HURC sent explanatory documents, focusing on evaluating service quality and the social values that Metro Line No. 1 brings to Ho Chi Minh City.
Through a rigorous appraisal process, the Nikkei Judging Council highly appreciated the operational efficiency, spreading level as well as the social significance of the project and decided to award the prize.
With a length of nearly 20 km, connecting the center of Ho Chi Minh City with the eastern gateway area in just about 30 minutes, ticket prices from 7,000 - 20,000 VND, Metro Line 1 is gradually changing people's travel habits.
In just the first year of operation, this metro line has served more than 20 million passengers, becoming a new symbol of a modern, friendly and sustainable development city.
According to the Nikkei Council of Judges, including Professor Tei Woong-il (University of Tokyo), Metro Line 1 has great social significance when it helps people access healthcare, education and essential utilities more conveniently, especially in crowded cities. Metro is not just a transportation route, but an infrastructure that contributes to improving the quality of life of the city.
Data from the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Management Board (MAUR) shows that on average, metro line No. 1 serves more than 1.5 million passengers per month, equivalent to about 52,000 passengers/day, and at times peaked at over 110,000 passengers/day on holidays and Tet.
This figure far exceeds the initial forecast of only about 39,000 visitors/day of the investor and the operating unit.
Metro Line 1 has gone beyond the role of a "experimental" type of transportation to become a regular means of transportation for people.
If the first stage of the train was only crowded during rush hour morning - afternoon, now almost all trips during the day record a stable number of passengers, reflecting that Metro Line 1 is used for many different purposes, from going to work, going to school to shopping, playing.
MAUR leaders believe that one of the key factors helping Metro Line 1 increasingly attract people is the continuously improved and upgraded utility service system.
HURC Company leaders said that in parallel with transportation activities, the company is promoting diversification of payment methods on trains, at stations and on digital platforms, helping passengers use services faster, more conveniently and more civilizedly.
The application of technology, towards non-cash payments, not only improves the travel experience, but also lays an important foundation for the development of smart transportation in the city.
In 2026, HURC Company aims to continue to improve the quality of operation, strengthen connections with other types of urban transport and develop a service ecosystem around Metro Line 1 stations.
