At approximately 7:04 am, the entire Thu Duc 220 kV substation lost power due to an incident on the national power transmission system. This caused a disruption in operations on the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line, leading many passengers to leave trains and wait at stations during the morning rush hour.

According to Urban Railway Company No. 1 Limited (HURC1), the line's operator, the incident impacted about 14 trains. After power was restored, the company coordinated with the Southern Power Dispatch Center to re-establish the load. This allowed the metro line to resume full operations at 7:57 am, following a 53-minute disruption.

A HURC1 representative stated that the metro's operational power system relies on the national power grid. This incident marked the first time the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien line experienced a service disruption directly caused by a power outage originating from the national transmission system.

The Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro line stretches nearly 20 km, featuring three underground and 11 elevated stations. It serves as a vital connection between central TP HCM and its eastern area. This is the city's first urban railway line, which began commercial operations on 22/12/2024, utilizing 17 trains, each composed of three carriages.

After nearly one year of operation, the line served approximately 19 million passengers, averaging 52,000 daily. By 3/2026, ridership had increased to about 70,000 passengers daily, clearly indicating a growing demand for metro services.

Since its commercial launch, the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro has experienced several previous disruptions. These were primarily due to lightning strikes, which activated electrical safety systems and caused trains to temporarily halt. Most recently, on 7/10, a lightning strike near Tan Cang station led to a temporary 4-minute disruption of the metro line.

Giang Anh