Ho Chi Minh City plans to break ground on the line around Sept. 2, as one of a batch of priority projects timed to the date. The study and its front-end engineering design, prepared by Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment JSC, a subsidiary of automaker Thaco, are still under appraisal.

The route runs 46.44 km from the eastern side of Thu Thiem station, on the Ben Thanh-Thu Thiem metro line, to the Cam Duong depot in Dong Nai City.

Elevated track accounts for 34.54 km and tunnels for 11.01 km, with 0.7 km at grade and a 0.19-km transition section. About 11.24 km fall inside HCMC and 35.2 km inside Dong Nai.

The full line has 18 stations, 16 elevated and two underground, not counting Thu Thiem. Phase one will build 14 of them to hold down upfront costs.

Six are in Ho Chi Minh City: Binh Trung, Do Xuan Hop, Ring Road 2, Phu Huu, Long Truong and Vuon Dua.

The eight in Dong Nai are Long Tan, Phu Thanh, Tuy Ha, Nhon Trach, Phuoc Thien, Xom Goc, Long Thanh 1 and Long Thanh 2.

Long Thanh airport under construction in Dong Nai City, southern Vietnam, in May 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan

The alignment tracks the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway and Ring Road 3, tying into six other rail lines.

It meets the Ben Thanh-Thu Thiem metro at Thu Thiem, Metro Line 6 at Ring Road 2 and Phu Huu, and Metro Line 10 at Long Truong.

It also connects with the Vung Tau-Ba Ria-Phu My line, and with the extended Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien line and the North-South high-speed railway at the station inside Long Thanh, which is set to become Vietnam's biggest international airport and replace Tan Son Nhat as the international air traffic hub in the country's south.

Peak capacity is nearly 47,000 passengers an hour, or more than 23,400 in each direction. Trains are built to a design speed of 120 kph and will run at 80-110 kph depending on the section.

They will operate under GoA4 automation, the highest grade under international rail standards, with no driver or attendant on board. Rolling stock, signaling and power systems match those of the Tham Luong-Ben Thanh-Thu Thiem metro.

Phase one carries a preliminary cost of VND134.169 trillion, excluding land clearance. That is below the figure in the previous study, which had included both land clearance and loan interest.

The investor would raise the capital under a build-transfer contract and be repaid with land and state budget funds. Completion is set for 2030.

Long Thanh airport is due to open to commercial flights on Dec. 1. The National Assembly signed off on VND336.63 trillion (US$13 billion) in 2015 for a three-phase build-out that would eventually give the airport four runways and four terminals.

The first phase, at roughly VND110 trillion, covers a single terminal sized for 25 million passengers a year, and it is the part opening in December.

Ho Chi Minh City has more than 1,000 km of urban rail on its planning maps but only about 20 km in service, on the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien line. The city has started construction or broken ground on the Ben Thanh-Tham Luong, Ben Thanh-Thu Thiem and Ben Thanh-Can Gio projects.

It aims to reach 255 km by 2030. Alongside Thu Thiem-Long Thanh, lines in preparation include Binh Duong New City-Suoi Tien, the first phase of Metro Line 6 from Tan Son Nhat to Phu Huu, Thu Dau Mot-Tao Dan, and the Tham Luong-An Ha-Northwest Urban Area section of Metro Line 2.