Vinh Railway Station: Efforts to serve passengers during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon

(Baonghean.vn) -Vinh Station, a hub for many northbound and southbound trains, was bustling with trains arriving and departing on the eve of the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon. While passengers hurriedly boarded and disembarked trains to return home for the traditional Tet holiday, nearly 100 station staff members remained busy with their work.

By mid-January 2012, Vinh Railway Station had sold 6,000 out of 7,000 tickets allocated by the department for the Lunar New Year (Year of the Dragon). Tickets for peak days from the 5th to the 10th of the Lunar New Year (January 27th to February 1st, 2012) were essentially sold out. The remaining 1,000 tickets were mainly for the 1st to 4th of the Lunar New Year (January 23rd to 26th) and the 11th to 15th of the Lunar New Year (February 2nd to 6th, 2012).

Vinh Train Station on the eve of the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon

According to Nguyen Xuan Thuong, head of the planning department at Vinh Railway Station, this year the station implemented several improvements to ticket sales compared to previous years, reducing pressure on both passengers and railway staff. Ticket vendors now sell tickets using only their national identity cards (CMND). This method has limited instances of people using borrowed CMNDs to buy tickets for resale, significantly reducing the ticket scalping problem prevalent during holidays in previous years, preventing artificial ticket shortages, and ensuring tickets reach passengers.

Ticket sales on busy days are conducted using a numbered system. Therefore, there is no crowding or pushing at the ticket counter, preventing disorder and opportunities for pickpockets. In addition, free home delivery of tickets is maintained for passengers residing in the wards of Quan Bau, Dong Vinh, Le Loi, Quang Trung, Hung Binh, Hung Phuc, Ha Huy Tap, Le Mao, Doi Cung, and the area east of the railway line in Cua Nam ward. For other wards and communes in Vinh City, a fee of 15,000 VND is charged for distances under 15 km, while for distances over 15 km, the fee is determined by agreement. This approach both facilitates passenger travel and reduces the number of people buying tickets at the station.



Applying technology to ensure safe train operation.

Currently, Vinh Station ensures the operation of 10 regular trains and an additional 16 Thong Nhat trains during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon. To meet the needs of regular passengers, Vinh Station management maintains a 24/7 duty roster, while over 80 staff members are on duty 12/24 hours a day. During the peak days after Tet, the station was authorized by the authorities to add train NA8 from Vinh to Hanoi at 9:30 PM from the 2nd to the 6th day of Tet, consisting of 12 carriages to serve nearly 700 passengers. Vinh Station also established a pair of 12-carriage trains from Vinh to Saigon running from the 4th to the 16th day of Tet (February 7, 2012).

Building on the achievements of the "Regular-Cultural-Safe" railway station construction project over the past year, this year, to ensure that staff can serve with peace of mind before, during, and after Tet (Lunar New Year), the Vinh Station leadership has settled all Tet salaries and bonuses, averaging 12 million VND per person. Improving their attitude and responsibility in serving train passengers, Vinh Station staff are striving to maintain the station's cultural status, practically celebrating the Party and the New Year in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.

Phan Nguyen