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
VNR website here. Note there are also many private websites offering journeys details including buses.
Downloadable Timetable
None but there is information on service levels 'Itinerary information' or by station list, the latter giving access to all calling points of each service.
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
Through VNR website here. Machines with an English option are available at least at Ha Noi main station.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Authority
None known
Network Statement
None known
Gauge
The majority of the network is metre gauge (3 feet 3 3⁄8 inches) .
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 [Yên Viên -] Kép to Hạ Long is only standard gauge, but is out of use since Covid.
The Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Metros are also standard gauge; 1435 mm (4 feet 8½ inches).
Electrification
For Metros ; 750 V d.c. third rail and overhead.
Rule of the road
Almost the entire network is single track.
Distances
No source known
Other Railways
Formosa Ha Tinh Steel has an extensive private metre gauge network serving its Ha Tinh plant, and the now isolated Thai Nguyen Steel Works near Luu Xa has dual gauge tracks, but only the Standard remains in use.
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 on both only the single railway track with sleepers and rails above ground level run down a "street" with no road traffic, with all buildings with numerous bars and restaurants very close to the track and passing trains. The northern train street is much busier and has been closed to pedestrians 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.
The ~2km Muong Hoa Funicular Railway opened 31 March 2018, which connects Sapa Town to the Fansipan cable car departure terminal.
Metros
Hanoi : The first 13 km of elevated line 2A from Cát Linh to Yên Nghĩa opened on 6 November 2021. This is part of a proposed 8 line network (see plan), the next section, which opened on 8 August 2024, is an 8 km elevated part of Line 3 from Cầu Giấy to Nhổn. The 4 km in tunnel onwards 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 (HCMC) (Saigon): 19.7 km of Line 1 between Ben Thanh in the city centre to Suoi Tien opened on 22 December 2024. Further lines are planned with the 11.3 km Line 2 from Ben Thanh to Tham Luong under construction and planned to open by 2030. See Master plan of HCMC urban railways system.
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
In early December 2024 the National Assembly approved a government proposal to build the North-South Express Railway, a 1541 km high-speed line connecting Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City with construction starting in 2026 or 2027..
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.
Special Notes
None
Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services
See Vietnam - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services.
