Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (Thu Duc City) shared the story of his subjectivity in not booking train tickets early. Initially, he planned to stay in Ho Chi Minh City for Tet to save money, but when the 2025 Tet holiday extended, he decided to take his family back to his hometown. "I thought that Tet train tickets always cost the same and there were always seats available, so I didn't book early," said Mr. Binh.
However, when he arrived at Saigon station three days ago, he was "shocked" because all the train tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Thanh Hoa on the days his family planned to travel had been sold out. In the end, he had to change his plans, ask for leave from work early and let his children leave school before December 21 to get train tickets.
"Plane tickets are both expensive and scarce, and taking a bus is not safe, so in the end I still chose to take the train home for Tet" - Mr. Binh shared.
A survey on December 8 on the railway industry's online ticket sales system showed that tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces to the North during peak days from January 21 to January 27, 2025 were fully booked.
This situation also occurs on shorter routes from Ho Chi Minh City to central provinces such as Khanh Hoa (Nha Trang), Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Da Nang.
Mr. Le Anh Tuan - Director of Saigon Railway Transport Branch said that the high demand for travel is the main reason for the "sold out" of tickets before Tet. "Trains from Ho Chi Minh City to the Central and Northern provinces from January 21 to January 27, 2025 are all sold out" - Mr. Tuan said.
According to Mr. Tuan, some trains still have tickets for passengers traveling from January 20 and before and January 28, 2025. In particular, after Tet, there are still many tickets from the North to the South between January 29 and February 16, 2025 (January 1 to 19).
During the peak period before Tet, there are 13 to 17 passenger trains departing from Saigon station every day, with an average capacity of about 500 passengers per trip.
Also according to Mr. Le Anh Tuan, during Tet, the railway industry organizes the control of boarding cards at the control gate of Saigon station. Passengers whose information matches the information on the boarding card are allowed to enter the train station. Relatives pick up or see off passengers at the train waiting area, not entering the platform area.
