The Reunification Express - more than just a train line

We continue north, over the Hai Van Pass with a stopover in the old royal city of Hue to Vinh, which now resembles a Soviet test-tube city after being completely destroyed by American bombing during the Vietnam War.

For this section of the route we decided to take the train. The route between Hanoi and Saigon/HCMC has a special significance for the country. The trains run under the name Reunification Express. The recommissioning was one of the first projects after the end of the Vietnam War. Since December 31, 1976, it has been possible to travel the 1,726km from Hanoi to Saigon without changing trains.

Certainly very few people will drive the entire route in one go, even if there are more than enough sleeping cars attached for the journey, which lasts over 30 hours. At speeds between 20 and 60km/h you can hardly speak of an “express”. Many Vietnamese therefore prefer to use the good network of couchette buses that connect all provinces or take a domestic flight.

Nevertheless, there is a certain pride inherent in the whole thing. The train is the symbol of a reunited and sovereign Vietnam. On the train and also at the train stations, where everything you might need for a train journey and much more can be purchased directly on the platform, you are inevitably part of normal life. Also because you like to take the train directly through your front yard and, as a long-nose person, you can quickly make contact with fellow passengers, especially the very small ones, both on the platform and on the train.

And there are also breathtaking landscapes to marvel at, for example the Hai Van Pass, which looks much more spectacular from the train than from the road, which takes a long shortcut.

Robert