Visitors in Hanoi experience a thrill as they quickly pull back from passing trains on the city’s famous train street, which has turned into a bustling area for cafes despite previous government disapproval.
Efforts by authorities to shut down this precarious section of the Vietnamese capital for safety have been thwarted by its growing popularity on social media, attracting more tourists. “I felt a rush of adrenaline because the train was so close,” Helena Bizonova from Slovakia shared with AFP, standing just inches away from the colonial-era train moving at 10 kilometers (six miles) per hour.
The track, adorned with lanterns and lined with stylish cafes, is a popular spot online and something Bizonova described as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Originally constructed in the early 1900s by Vietnam’s French colonizers to facilitate transport across what was then French Indochina, the railway suffered extensive damage during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam now aims to develop a $67 billion high-speed railway connecting the north and south, boosting essential infrastructure and spurring economic growth. However, the old narrow-gauge tracks managed by the state-owned Vietnam Railways Corporation continue to serve as a budget travel option.
Similar train streets in countries like Thailand and Taiwan draw large crowds of tourists eager for the excitement of dodging an oncoming train. Once a troubled area associated with drug use and squatting, Hanoi’s train street has become a thriving spot for cafe entrepreneurs.
A local cafe owner, who preferred anonymity, noted that tourism has revitalized the area into a “cleaner, nicer, and safer place,” opposing any closure attempts. “We should capitalize on it and use it to promote tourism instead of shutting it down,” he stated to AFP from his cafe adorned with Vietnamese flags.
As a train approaches, visitors are ushered into nearby cafes, ready to capture the moment on their phones.
Tourist Maria Morikova from Slovakia feels reassured by the staff’s guidance. “It’s not dangerous,” she commented. “They ensure safety by instructing where to stand.” Nguyen Le Trang, a Vietnamese visitor from the Mekong Delta, described the street as “Hanoi’s unique tourism attraction,” and argued against its closure.
