Hanoi bans tours on Train Street

Tourists use their smartphones to capture images of a passing train at Hanoi's Train Street, November 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Giang

The Hanoi Department of Tourism has requested travel agencies not to organize tours to the popular Train Street amid growing safety concerns.

The department also requires travel agencies to raise awareness among their staff about the risks of traffic accidents in areas where train street cafes operate.

Additionally, relevant authorities need to proactively coordinate to detect, prevent and promptly address violations in accordance with regulations.

Train Street, lined with makeshift coffee shops just feet from the tracks in the Old Quarter, was officially closed in September 2022 due to safety concerns.

Despite barricades and checkpoints at both ends of Tran Phu and Phung Hung streets, several cafes continue to operate, drawing large crowds of mostly foreign tourists, especially on weekends.

Thousands flock to the place to photograph passing trains, prompting tourism industry insiders to urge the government to consider turning it into a tourist attraction rather than banning it.

Previously, the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee had repeatedly requested the enforcement of penalties against businesses operating along the train street coffee area due to recurring violations within the railway safety corridor that had not been fully addressed.

Both locals and tourists not only gather along the railway corridor, but also crowd the train tracks, creating safety hazards.

The decision by the Hanoi Department of Tourism to ban tours to this area is seen as a measure to ensure the safety of tourists, create a safe railway corridor and maintain public order.