The 2600km Vietnamese railway system, operated by Vietnam Railways (Duong Sat Viet Nam; tel 04-3747 0308 ; www.vr.com.vn), runs along the coast between HCMC and Hanoi, and links the capital with Hai Phong and northern towns. While sometimes even slower than bvws, trains offer a more relaxing way to get around and more leg and body room than the jam-packed buses. The trains are also much safer than the country's kamikaze bus fleet.
Vietnam's railway authority has been rapidly upgrading trains and facilities with aircon sleeping berths and dining cars available now on express trains - and lowering the price for foreigners. Foreigners and Vietnamese are now charged the same price, a big change from a few years ago when foreigners were charged 400% more!
The quickest train journey between Hanoi and HCMC takes 30 hours. The slowest express train on this route takes 41 hours. There are also local trains that only cover short routes, but these can crawl along at 15km/h, as there is only one track with many passing points and local trains have the lowest priority.
Petty crime is a problem on Vietnamese trains. While there doesn't seem to be organised pack-nipping gangs, such as those in India, thieves have become proficient at grabbing packs through the windows as trains pull out of stations. Always keep your bag nearby and lock or tie it to something, especially at night.
Another hazard is children throwing rocks at the train. Passengers have been severely injured this way and many conductors insist that you keep down the metal window shield. Unfortunately, however, these shields also obstruct the view.
Bicycles and motorbikes must travel in the freight car. Just make sure that the train you are on has a freight car (most have) or your bike will arrive later than you do.
Eating is easy, as there are vendors at every station who board the train and practically stuff food, drinks and cigarettes into your pockets. However, the food supplied by the railway company, included in the ticket price on some long journeys, isn't Michelin rated. It's a good idea to stock up on your favourite munchies before taking a long trip.
Odd-numbered trains travel south and even-numbered ones travel north. The fastest train service is provided by the Reunification Express, which runs between HCMC and Hanoi, making only a few short slops en route. If you want to stop at some obscure point between the major towns, one of the slower local trains.
Aside from the main HCMC-Hanoi run, three rail-spur lines link Hanoi with the other parts of northern Vietnam. One runs east to the port city ol Hai Phong. A second heads northeast to Lang Son, crosses the border and continues to Nanning, China. A third goes northwest to Lao Cai and on to Kunming, China.
Four Reunification Express trains depart from HCMC's Saigon station between 4am and 10.30pm every day. The same number of trains depart from Hanoi between San and 6.40pm daily.
The train schedules change frequently The timetables for all trains are posted on the Vietnam Railway website and at major stations. Most travel agents and some hotels keep a copy of the latest schedule on hand. In HCMC call or visit the Saigon Railways Tourist Service in the Pham Ngu Lao area.
It's important to realise that the train schedule is 'bare-bones' during the Tel festival. The Reunification Express is suspended for nine days, beginning four days before Tet and continuing for four days afterwards.
Classes
There are four main classes of train travel in Vietnam: hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper and soft sleeper. The latter three are also split into air-con and nonair-con options; presently, air-con is only available on the fastest express trains. Since it's all that many Vietnamese can afford, hard-seat class is usually packed. Hard seat is tolerable for day travel, but overnight it is worse than the bus. Soft-seat carriages have vinyl-covered seats rather than the uncomfortable hard benches.
THE REUNIFICATION EXPRESS
Construction of the 1726km-long Hanoi-Saigon railway, the Transindochinois, began in 1899 and was completed in 1936. In the late 1930s, the trip from Hanoi to Saigon took 40 hours and 20 minutes at an average speed of 43km/h. During WWII the Japanese made extensive of the rail system, resulting in Viet Minh sabotage on the ground and US bombing from the air. After WWII efforts were made to repair the Transindochinois, major parts of which were either damaged or had become overgrown.
During the Franco-Viet Minh War, the Viet Minh engaged in sabotage against the rail system, At night the Viet Minh made off with rails to create a 300km network of tracks (between Ninh Hoa and Danang) in an area wholly under their control - the French quickly responded with their own sabotage.
In the late 1950s, the South, with US funding, reconstructed the track between Saigon and Hue, a distance of 1041km. But between 1961 and 1964 alone. 795 Viet Cong attacks were launched on the rail system, forcing the abandonment of large sections of track (including the Dalat spur).
By 1960 the North had repaired 1000km of track, mostly between Hanoi and China. During the US air war against the North, the northern rail network was repeatedly bombed. Even now clusters of bomb craters can be seen around virtually every rail bridge and train station in the north.
After reunification, the government immediately about re-establishing the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) rail link as a symbol of Vietnamese unity. By the time the Reunification Express trains were inaugurated on 31 December 1976, 1334 bridges, 27 tunnels, 158 stations and 1370 shunts (switches) had been repaired.
Today the Reunification Express chugs along slightly faster than the trains did in the 1930s, at an average of 48km/h. |
A hard sleeper has three tiers of beds (six beds per compartment). Becathe Vietnamese don't seem to like climbing up, the upper berth is cheapest, followed by the middle berth and finally the lower berth. There is no door to separate the compartment from the corridor. Soft sleeper has two tiers (four beds per compartment) and all bunks are priced the same. These compartments have a door.
Costs
Ticket prices vary depending on the train, and the fastest trains are naturally the most expensive. See the following table for some simple fares from Hanoi to stations south. For all the details on trains from Hanoi to Hai Phong, Lao Cai and Lang Son, see the relevant sections.
Reservations
The supply of train seats is often insufficient to meet demand. Reservations for all trips should be made at least one day in advance. For sleeping berths, it is wise to hook several days before the date of departure. Bring your passport when buying train tickets.
Many travel agencies, hotels and cafes sell train tickets for a small commission, and this can considerable time and trouble. It's a good idea to make reservations for onward travel as soon as you arrive in a city.
|
