All passenger trains on the North-South railway line have been suspended.

The Vietnam Railways Corporation has decided to temporarily suspend the SE8 train service from Saigon station to the North starting August 23rd; in the opposite direction, the SE7 train service from Hanoi station will stop running from August 25th until further notice. Following the suspension of the SE7/SE8 trains, the entire national railway network will have no passenger trains operating, only freight trains.

According to railway officials, the suspension of these two trains is due to the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic and a sharp decline in passenger numbers. Many stations on the North-South railway line have closed to prevent the spread of the disease, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, so even if they were operational, passengers would not be able to board the trains.

Passengers who have purchased tickets for trains SE7 and SE8 will be able to process refunds and retain their ticket money. Passengers can refund their tickets online or at the station (for localities not implementing social distancing measures). In cases where passengers cannot come to the station to process refunds due to travel restrictions in their locality, they can refund their tickets after the scheduled train departure time.

Previously, the railway sector had reduced passenger train services on many routes since the end of May, maintaining only one pair of SE7/SE8 trains on the North-South route until now. Currently, the sector only operates specialized trains to bring people back to their hometowns according to the needs of each locality.

In July-August 2021, Vietnam Railways Corporation organized five special trains to safely transport nearly 2,500 citizens from Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces from Ho Chi Minh City and other southern provinces back to their hometowns.

Huyen Chau - Photo: Internet