The LRT project in Phu Quoc, An Giang Province, is scheduled to begin commercial operations in November 2027.
Less than two weeks after the first equipment shipments arrived, nearly one kilometre of standard-gauge track had been laid and was being prepared for final installation.
The project will use 2,850 rail sections, each 25 metres long and weighing about 1.5 tonnes, with more than 4,200 tonnes of steel to be installed along the route.
The 1,435mm-gauge line will use 60R2 grooved rails designed for high load capacity, stability and smoother operations.
All track on ground-level sections, bridges and tunnels is scheduled to be completed by February 2027. With installation starting in late August 2026, contractors have about six months to complete the work.
Tran Anh Tuan, deputy general director of Vietnam Railways, said completing 17.59 kilometres of double track, equivalent to nearly 36 kilometres of urban railway, within six months would require an unusually fast construction pace.
Vietnam Railways has deployed nearly 200 engineers and workers in several teams to carry out the work.
The nearly 18-kilometre LRT will have six stations, including five above ground and one underground station at the APEC Convention and Exhibition Centre.
In its first phase, six to 10 three-car trains powered by clean energy are expected to enter service, with the number eventually rising to 14. The line is designed to carry up to 4,500 passengers per hour.
Once completed, the LRT is expected to cut travel time between Phu Quoc International Airport and the APEC Convention and Exhibition Centre, as well as resorts and entertainment complexes in southern Phu Quoc, to about 20 minutes.
The project, developed under a build-operate-transfer model with investment of nearly VND 9 trillion, broke ground in December 2025.
In August, Sun Group signed an agreement with HCM City Urban Railway No. 1 Company, the operator of HCM City's first metro line, for operational consulting, training and trial runs.