Train street coffee should become a tourist destination

"It's one of my top 10 must-visit places in Hanoi," said Hong Lim, 28, from Singapore, when asked about the train cafe. The train passing right next to her gave Lim a feeling of "excitement in fear."

The railway coffee street is located on the border of Dien Bien ward (Ba Dinh district), Cua Nam ward, Hang Bong ward (Hoan Kiem district). In October 2019, the Hanoi government requested to thoroughly handle the situation of businesses encroaching on the railway, causing insecurity in the area. Hoan Kiem district leaders affirmed that households doing business on the Phung Hung railway corridor do not ensure railway safety.

The households then submitted a petition to the authorities with the hope of continuing to do business with solutions to both ensure the safety of the railway corridor and develop tourism. However, the authorities rejected the petition. Mr. Pham Tuan Long, Vice Chairman of Hoan Kiem District at that time, said that the district had considered the petition to resume business from households in the Dien Bien Phu - Phung Hung railway area and consulted the transport sector. Accordingly, doing business in this area does not ensure the safety of the railway corridor, so the people's petitions cannot be implemented.

Since then, signs and barriers have been erected in many places, but the area keeps getting crowded again, especially when the police force leaves.

On November 24, hundreds, sometimes thousands of tourists flocked to the cafes in the street to check in every time a train passed by. Households around here took advantage of the sidewalk space to sell drinks and snacks.

Spanish tour guide Nguyen Duy Tuan, 39, said that many groups of tourists asked him to take them to this place as soon as they arrived in Hanoi, but he refused. However, he still received messages from tourists showing off their trips and photos of them checking in at the train street coffee shop. "This place is very famous with international tourists even though it never appears on the tour schedule," Tuan said.

"This is a form of reverse PR. The more we ban, the more visitors come," commented Mr. Nguyen Van My, Chairman of Lua Viet Travel Company.

Explaining why taking photos on the train street is dangerous but tourists still flock there, Mr. My said that the problem needs to be re-examined, and that the fault is not entirely due to tourists' love of virtual life. The tourism industry is lacking attractive products that attract tourists. If there were alternative products, tourists would spread out to different places instead of flocking to one place.

"Whether the train street coffee street should exist or not is the question that needs to be answered now," said Nguyen Tien Dat, Vice President of the Hanoi Tourism Association. Mr. Dat was born and raised in Hanoi's Old Quarter, a short distance from the train street coffee street. 30-40 years ago, the neighborhood was similar to a "slum" with a shabby appearance. Today, with the development of coffee shop services for guests to check in, the neighborhood has been "transformed", its aesthetic value has increased significantly.

According to Mr. Dat, there were fatal accidents on the railway street when the railway industry strictly checked train tickets. The main reason was that passengers did not enter the train without tickets, evading inspection, so when the train slowed down to enter the station, they would jump off the train in this area. Currently, with the new ticket control method, cases of jumping off the train no longer exist, and accidents are very rare. Since the railway coffee street became an online trend, there have been no fatal accidents because of "virtual life" of visitors. Therefore, visitors still flock to this place despite the ban.

According to experts and those working in the tourism industry, most of the visitors to the train street coffee shop are international tourists. They see the photos posted online and flock to Hanoi.

Vietnam is developing tourism at a strong pace. Hanoi's tourism industry is also growing steadily, leading the country in international arrivals in the first 10 months of the year, with 4.95 million arrivals, up 36% over the same period in 2023. In addition to cultural destinations, visitors also want to find something different.

"International visitors often like new, unique and thrilling things," Mr. Dat explained why the train street coffee shop attracts visitors despite being banned.

Regarding the issue of whether or not the railway cafe street should exist, experts say that Hanoi’s tourism industry should turn its weakness into strength. According to data from the General Statistics Office on October 24, the national railway network by 2022 will be more than 3,100 km long.

"Each section of this railway in Hanoi attracts visitors. Why don't we take advantage of it and turn it into a tourism advantage?", said the CEO of a travel company in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

In terms of security and safety, all activities on the railway cafe street are violating railway safety regulations. But if it cannot be banned, experts suggest that it should be managed, similar to what Taiwan is doing with the experience of releasing sky lanterns on the railway tracks in Shifen Street.

According to Mr. Dat, Hanoi can implement many pilot measures such as recognizing the train street as a tourist destination and setting strict regulations for management. Those doing business in this area can pay a sum of money to equip devices such as speakers and lights to warn tourists when the train is about to arrive. That amount of money is also used to hire people to remind and warn tourists, to ensure safety. The speakers can be bilingual in English and Vietnamese to serve international visitors.

"We can consider checking in at the train street coffee shop as an extreme sport," according to Mr. Dat.

Chairman of Lua Viet Tourism Company Nguyen Van My said that the government, shop owners, and tourists all have their own reasons. Hanoi wants to close the train street coffee shop because it puts people's safety first; shop owners want more revenue; tourists need new experiences.

Hanoi needs to consider this a conditional service, instead of "if you can't manage it, ban it". Those who meet the requirements will be granted a limited-term license with specific regulations and heavy fines for violations. If tourists violate the regulations, the restaurant owner will also be held responsible. If there are clear regulations, the government can still manage it. The restaurant owner (revenue), tourists (experience) and the government (tax collection) all benefit.

"The more a book is banned, the more people read it. The same goes for the train street coffee shop issue," said the Chairman of Lua Viet Tourism.