Why is the Vinh - Hanoi railway line temporarily suspended?

According to the announcement of Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company (Haraco), from February 21pause runningtrain service on the Hanoi - Vinh route has been suspended due to a sharp drop in passenger demand after the Lunar New Year. Specifically, train NA2 departing from Vinh has been suspended since February 21; train NA1 departing from Hanoi has been suspended since February 22.

The NA1 - NA2 train route from Vinh to Hanoi, one of the routes with the most stable and crowded passenger volume in many years, has been temporarily suspended due to the impact of the epidemic. Photo: QA

This is very unfortunate news, because this pair of trains has been one of the top choices for passengers for many years whenever they need to travel between the two cities. Train NA 2 in particular departs from Vinh Station at 9:40 p.m. and arrives in Hanoi at 5 a.m., which is an ideal time for everyone because when passengers board the train, rest for a night and arrive in the capital the next morning. Before the pandemic, this pair of trains welcomed thousands of passengers every day, and was one of the train routes with the most stable number of passengers in many years.

Mr. Cao Ngoc Tuan - Head of Transport StationVinh railwaysaid: "The main reason for having to temporarily stop this train route is due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, when both Hanoi and Vinh are areas with complicated epidemic developments in the top of the country. In addition, the number of train passengers has decreased sharply, so there is not enough funding to operate this train route, forcing it to temporarily stop operations. Due to the unavoidable situation, the brothers in the profession are very regretful and have many concerns about this train route."

Vinh Station is deserted due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: QA

According to statistics from Vinh Station, if at peak times, this train line welcomes around 1,000 passengers per day, since Tet until now, the number of passengers going in and out is only 100 - 150 passengers per day, a decrease of 90%. Of which, most are passengers from Vinh to Hanoi (about 100 passengers), in the opposite direction, there are only 20 - 50 passengers from Hanoi to Vinh each day. For example, the last NA2 train departing at 9:00 p.m. on February 20 in Vinh, arriving in Hanoi at 5:00 a.m. on February 21, has 8 carriages but only 58 passengers.

It is known that the operating cost to maintain the Vinh - Hanoi train route in both directions is about 60 million VND/trip, while ticket sales with a small number of passengers are only 20 - 30 million VND, unable to cover the cost, so the suspension is inevitable.

"Because this train line has stopped operating, the staff of the Vinh - Hanoi railway station with more than 100 people also had to temporarily stop working, their income is unstable and they have to look for new jobs while waiting for the train line to reopen. However, the complicated epidemic situation has not yet determined the return date of this pair of trains..." - Mr. Tuan added.

Although the Vinh - Hanoi route is temporarily suspended, passengers can still go to Vinh Station to go to Hanoi by other train routes. Photo: QA

Although the Vinh - Hanoi train route has stopped operating, other train routes such as SE3 - SE4; SE5 - SE6; SE7 - SE8; SE11 - SE12 running from Hanoi to Saigon are still operating normally and stopping at Vinh Station on the way. Therefore, passengers who want to go to other provinces and cities, especially Hanoi, can still buy tickets and board the train at Vinh Station. However, this "cross-Vietnam" train route only stops at Vinh Station for a short period of time with different time frames, so if passengers are used to the NA1 - NA2 Vinh - Hanoi route, they must consider a reasonable time to board the train to avoid missing the train.

Epidemic prevention and control work at Vinh Station has been strengthened to ensure passenger safety. Photo: QA

It is known that although the number of visitors has dropped to a record low, the work of preventing and fighting the epidemicCovid - 19at Vinh Station is still maintained regularly and continuously to ensure passenger safety and minimize the risk of disease spreading in the community.