Vietnam
Country Details
Name: Vietnam (Việt Nam), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Language: Vietnamese and English, or French among the older generation and those educated in the former South Vietnam
Currency: đồng (₫) (VND)
National Railway System
National Railway Operator
UIC code
Numeric 32; alpha VN
Timetable
Information is available at the Man in Seat 61.
Journey Planner
Downloadable Timetable
None
Printed Timetable
None
Summary timetables are available in some editions of the European Rail Timetable.
Engineering Information
None known
Maps
Printed Maps
None known
Web-based Maps
Ticketing
To be updated
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Authority
None known
Network Statement
None known
Gauge
The majority of the network is metre gauge.
The lines from Yên Viên (a container transhipment yard north of Hà Nội) to Thái Nguyên and Đồng Đăng (the border with China) are mixed gauge; only freight trains destined for China use the standard gauge.
The line from Kép to Hạ Long is standard gauge, but is out of use since Covid.
Electrification
None known
Rule of the road
Almost the entire network is single track.
Distances
No source known
Other Railways
None
Tourist Lines
From Đà Lạt running 6.5km to Trại Mát, a preserved section of the 84km line to Tháp Chàm on the Hanoi - Saigon main line. Wiki site on the line history. No website details are known but a photo of the 2018 timetable showing six pairs a day at weekends between unknown dates is part of this on-line article. Note all services require a minimum of 20 tickets to be sold to run.
Part of the National Network but a recognised tourist attraction is "Train Street" in Hanoi. What is not so well known is there are two train streets, the more famous is used by trains to/from the north of Hanoi main station, but trains to/from the south also have the same experience, albeit nowhere near as commercialised. "Train Street" is a misnomer, as only the single railway track runs down the "street", with buildings/bars/restaurants very close to passing trains. The northern train street gets very busy and has been closed from time to time, with a 2024 visit finding property owners self regulating tourists to keep visitors away from the track when trains are due, plus private security guards attempting to restrict access at the main access points.
Metros
Hanoi: 13.1km elevated line 2A from Cát Linh to Yên Nghĩa opened on 6 November 2021. This is part of a proposed 8 line network, the next section that opened on 8 August 2024 is an 8.1km elevated part of Line 3 from Cầu Giấy to Nhổn. The 4km in tunnel from Cầu Giấy via an interchange with current line 2A at Cát Linh to Hanoi central station is planned to open by December 2027.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): Two lines are under construction but neither is yet open. The first will be 19.7 km between District 1's Ben Thanh Market and Thu Duc City's Long Thanh Depot that is stated as opening in the fourth quarter of 2024. Further lines are planned.
Trams
None
Recent and Future Changes
Recent Changes
The one pair a day service on the Standard Gauge line from Yen Vien in the northern Hanoi suburbs to Halong was suspended for Corona Virus and has not resumed.
Future Changes
A Vietnamese and a Laotian company reported in March 2023 that they have the backing of their respective national governments for a study into the construction of a 555 km railway between the port of Vũng Áng and Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Obscure and Sparse Passenger Services
None known.
Special Notes
None
