International Railroad Discussion > Hanoi closes up Train Street

Street is barricaded to keep people from getting too close to the train:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/tourists-rail-against-hanoi-train-street-ban/ar-AAIzKAj?ocid=spartanntp

Sounds like somebody didn't move fast enough. Most likely a tourist since the locals have lot's of practice.

As the train "chugged" past. I didn't realize they were running regular steam there. 

"Built by former colonial rulers, the railway once shipped goods and people across France's former Indochina colony and remains in use today by communist Vietnam's state-run railway company."
...as if the railway no longer carries (a vast amount) of people and goods
...as if the highways in the US aren't "state run"

PHall Wrote:
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> Sounds like somebody didn't move fast enough. Most
> likely a tourist since the locals have lot's of
> practice.

Yes, sounds like thay ran over a chinaman.

Hello,

this is bad news. The bars along the line were rather nice. They even showed a little love and style. It may be a little grubby over there, but the train also may be a good neighbor. I cannot now remember where I read it, but supposedly 400 miles of rail lines are to be fenced off for security reasons. I have no clue whatsoever how many Vietnamese get hit by a train, but from what I have seen the Chinese may just be a little more advanced at acting reckless... Train Street really got busy for the 8 pm train. Once this train was gone you could sit back and relax with a cold beer and wait for the 10 pm train. In contrast to just three years ago many tourists found their way from the old town during the day to take some pictures.
The first three pictures show what the scene looked like in the evening. It is actually north of Hanoi's main station. The loco in the second picture was built in the Czech Republic. I cannot remember about the blueish loco in the third picture.

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And the second part. The first two pictures show scenes just south of the main station. There was not too much space left between me, the wall, and the train. And the lady in the store was concerned about my safety. Me, not so much. I wanted to get that picture. Vietnam was dominated by China for quite some time. This shows in Chinese characters in temples in the first place. The language speaken today also shows quite some Chinese influence. More prominent it is seen on the screen leaning at the wall. However, they are not really in love with each other these days. The third picture shows a standard gauge loco in Yen Bien, on the northern fringes of Hanoi. It is a Chinese model for export which resembles a DF11G, which is a double loco though. Apparently it was plain luck that I happened about the freight coming from the border in Dong Dang. A second try did result in no picture, save for some semaphores. The passenger train to and from Beijing/Nanning traverses this line in the dead of night.

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Do they operate narrow gauge and standard gauge in the area of picture six?

Posted from Android

Hello Lackawanna,

yes. The track all seems to be a little rusty. Traffic is rather light. To this you add frequent rain during my visit. So the rust never really wears off. The picture of the Chinese loco was taken close to the main shop for the standard gauge locos. I did see some narrow gauge passenger power there, too. I also came across a narrow gauge switcher of Chinese origin in the same area. It was switching standard gauge freight cars using a standard gauge idler car. I do have no idea how far the narrow gauge goes. I do have some more photos which I may post, if it is of interest.

Cheers

kbs651

Thanks!

Posted from Android

SAAP Wrote:
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> "Built by former colonial rulers, the railway once
> shipped goods and people across France's former
> Indochina colony and remains in use today by
> communist Vietnam's state-run railway company."
> ...as if the railway no longer carries (a vast
> amount) of people and goods
> ...as if the highways in the US aren't "state run"

Vietnamese Railways do not carry a vast amount of people and goods. Less than 5% in both categories. 
Given the industrialization in recent years, a sad commentary. 
Most of the system is narrow gauge.