Railway companies temporarily suspend train routes

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company has temporarily suspended the operation of several routes due to a shortage of passengers. 

The trains include the SE35/36 trains, travelling between Hanoi and Vinh city and vice versa; and the SP1/2 trains, travelling from Hanoi to Lao Cai city and vice versa.

The company will stop the daily operation of the YB3/4 trains, travelling from Hanoi to Yen Bai and vice versa. The trains will only run at the weekend (from Hanoi on Saturday and from Yen Bai on Sunday).

All passengers that bought tickets on these trains will be able to exchange them or get a refund, the company said.

The Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company also said it has temporarily halted the operation of some trains for the same reason, the Tien Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper reported.

Specifically, the SQN1/2 trains, running on the HCM City – Quy Nhon route, as well as the SPT1/2 trains, running on the HCM City – Phan Thiet route, will only run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week. On other days, they will be suspended.

Dao Anh Tuan, general director of the Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company, said the number of passengers had fallen by half compared to the same period last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Thousands of train tickets were returned because travel firms cancelled tours, he said.

“The initial damage to our company has reached about 40 billion VND (1.7 million USD),” he added.

Phung Thi Ly Ha, deputy general director of the Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company said about 26,000 train tickets were returned since the outbreak of COVID-19.

It was predicted that passenger-transport revenue of the company would fall by half in both February and March compared to the same period last year, she said.

It was hard to talk about the resumption of the trains’ operation because it depended on the number of passengers, she said./.