International Railroad Discussion > A Second Look at Trains in Hanoi, Vietnam

On February 16, 2025 my tour group had reservations for first class sleeping compartments on train SE1 out of Hanoi with a departure time of 10:10 PM for an overnight trip to Hue. The train consisted of one locomotive and 14 cars and departed on time. The sleeping compartments were small and basic but clean and certainly better than the other three classes: 'open' berths, comfortable chair car, and uncomfortable chair car.

1. VNR D19E-class #928 in the red-white-blue scheme is the locomotive on my train, SE1. This is the most common locomotive in Vietnam (80 were built, all in the 2000s) and used for both freight and passenger. They were built jointly by the Chinese company CSR Ziyang and the Gia Lam Works of the Vietnam Railways. This one is from the second batch, built in 2006-2007. They feature a US-built Caterpillar diesel engine generating 1950 hp and are six-axle.

2. A view of SE1 looking down the platform.

3. Looking to the left over to platform 4 we see the class unit, D19E #901, built in 2003. You can see that this batch of locomotives is a little less angular than #928 seen above. That should be train NA1, due to depart at 10:40 PM.

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4. A more or less roster shot of D19E-class #928 on the point of train SE1.

5. This is my favorite shot from the evening as train HP2 arrives from the north on track 3 behind another D19E-class locomotive but in a distinctly different, much rounder (later) body style. And in a different paint scheme featuring a magenta band and a yellow stripe. The scheduled arrival is 9:40 PM and the time stamp on the photo is 9:39:21 PM. On-time performance was generally excellent in my experience and this was on a single-track railway with manned sidings, not a CTC-signaled railway. Passenger train meets often occurred at stations requiring both trains to be on time.

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Thanks for the look.

Thank's for a fascinating post.

My generation has to keep remembering: Vietnam is a country, not a war. We were fighting there, or protesting that war, in our formative years. Your post shows normal life, and that's startling. 

I'm a long-time college prof. The first time an international student walked into my office and said, Hi, I'm from Ho Chi Mihn City, it really floored me. 

Mike

Very nice series. First time I see a thread on Vietnan trains. What is the rail gauge there?

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Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Meter gauge.

Great. Meter gauge like we have in Brazil. 

NMlurker Wrote:
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> Meter gauge.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1