The mock-up was shipped to Vietnam in January and will be on display at the site of the line's depot until April 15 as part of a public consultation exercise, which will help to determine the final design.

The 110km/h 1.5kV dc trains will be built at Hitachi's Kasado works in Japan and will enter service as three-car sets, although they will be lengthened to six-cars as traffic increases.

Construction began in 2012 on the 19.7km line from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien and commercial services are due to begin in 2020. The Japanese government is financing 88% of the $US 2.5bn project.

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