In 2018, according to statistics from Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company, on average each passenger train on the Hanoi - Quan Trieu route had only 56 passengers/trip, in 2019 it increased to 65 passengers/trip.
After a long period of lack of passengers, along with the difficulties of the COVID-19 period, since March 2020, Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company has decided to temporarily suspend daily operations of the QT1/QT2 train pairs on the Hanoi - Quan Trieu (Thai Nguyen) route. Since then, this railway line has only operated freight trains, but only a maximum of 4 trips per month.
To solve the above situation, recently, Vietnam Railway Corporation has coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Department of Transport of Thai Nguyen province to promote tea culture, introduce tourist destinations on the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen railway line. It is expected that on January 1, 2025, a pair of trains will run to serve social security on the Gia Lam - Quan Trieu route. The goal is to improve service quality, attract passengers to travel by rail, and promote tourism in the tea land.
Tea culture spaces will be deployed at the waiting rooms of Hanoi, Pho Yen, Luu Xa, Quan Trieu stations, displaying OCOP products. Landscape planning along the railway line through Thai Nguyen province.
In the immediate future, the units will deploy a trial run of a pair of two-way passenger trains from Hanoi station to Quan Trieu station (Thai Nguyen). Locals and tourists will be given free train tickets to experience. After that, the authorities will evaluate to complete the model and put it into tourism exploitation. The train will be connected with a community car designed to suit the local tea culture.
Concerned about the railway transport industry, Mr. Ngo Quang Tien - Head of Luu Xa Station (Thai Nguyen City) - said that after stopping short-distance passenger transport and focusing on freight transport, the scene at the stations became desolate. The lives of station staff have also become more difficult, with unstable incomes.
“Currently, the station has 10 employees working here. We also have to constantly encourage everyone to stick with the job and overcome the recent difficult period. Everyone is very excited about restarting the double passenger train, combined with tourism. Hopefully there will be a breakthrough to renew the face of the local railway industry,” Mr. Tien confided.
According to Mr. Tien, the locality needs to coordinate with the railway industry to renovate the appearance of the stations. At the same time, combine unique tourism products, integrate symbols of Thai Nguyen tourism to create highlights. Only with synchronous implementation and creating highlights will there be changes and effectiveness.
Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Head of Tourism Management Department (Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province) - said that the unit has a plan to cooperate with the Department of Transport and Vietnam Railways Corporation to launch rail passenger transport combined with tourism.
“There will be two types of trains, the passenger train is expected to run daily, while the tourist train will operate on the three weekends. At the stations, there will be displays of typical products and OCOP to promote local tourism. Hopefully, this model will promote the railway transport industry and stimulate local tourism,” Mr. Lam added.
