With recent increases in the price of flights, many domestic travellers have chosen to take the train and to build on that popularity whilst the railway sector has been making efforts to improve service quality.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hòa and her family will have a summer vacation in central Đà Nẵng City in early June.

Rather than fly by plane, where tickets cost more than VNĐ2.4 million (US$94) each, she opted to take the train, which would have cost around VNĐ700,000 ($27.4) per ticket, from Hà Nội to Đà Nẵng.

“It is much convenient to travel by train now as train stations are located in the city centre," Hòa told Vietnamplus. "You just need to sleep one night on the train and the next noon you will be in Đà Nẵng City. You don't have to worry about traffic jams and can enjoy beautiful landscapes of nature along the way. Such an interesting experience.”

She said her family will take the Central Heritage Connection train route linking Huế City and Đà Nẵng City to enjoy the majestic Hải Vân Pass and Lăng Cô Bay.

According to the Đà Nẵng City Department of Tourism, over five days across the April 30 - May 1 holiday, the number of tourists coming to the city by train reached more than 16,000, an increase of 60 per cent over the same period in 2023.

Many other destinations such as Huế, Nha Trang, Hải Phòng also recorded a sharp rise in the number of tourists traveling by train.

Hà Nội Railway Joint Stock Company reported that since March 26, 2024, the heritage train has carried more than 27,600 travellers, including nearly 2,200 international ones.

Đỗ Văn Hoan, chairman of the company’s Board of Directors said: “The railway sector and localities are coordinating with travel companies to continue to enhance service quality to launch promotion programmes, connect with tourist attractions, diversify services and bring quality trains to domestic and foreign tourists visiting the central region.”

The rise in the popularity of taking the train was confirmed by Đặng Sỹ Mạnh, Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Railway Corporation (VNR), who said by 2023, passenger transport output reached more than six million people with revenue of over VNĐ2.3 trillion ($90 million). The figures recorded in the first quarter of 2024 were more than 1.4 million people and VNĐ700 billion ($27.4 million), respectively.

He said: "Unlike previous years, there are still a lot of people traveling by train during the low season this year. The passenger trains that run between North and South are frequently fully booked.

“2024 is forecast to be a boom year of tourism such as intercontinental tourism, off-season tourism and especially rail tourism, so increasing train passengers is also a trend."

He predicted that as the cost of tickets for alternative modes of transportation rises, more people will think about using trains again. But if travellers come back and the railroad can't keep up the quality, it will lose market share. To better meet the demands of its customers, the VNR has worked to innovate and provide a wider range of products and itineraries.

The railway sector has regularly upgraded and improved infrastructure and services with a number of luxury trains put into operation recently, attracting a large number of tourists.

VNR launched high-quality trains SE19/SE20 Hà Nội-Đà Nẵng, SE21/SE22 Đà Nẵng-HCM City, Hà Nội-Hải Phòng train for food tour, Huế-Đà Nẵng Central Heritage Connection train and the Đà Lạt night train.

Mạnh said the railway sector wanted to not just be a mode of travel but make the departure and arrival destinations an experience in themselves, to help promote the image of the country.

“Trains can become check-in destinations. The station can be a destination of culture, art, history and heritage,” he said. — VNS