If you are ever lucky enough to travel to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, you will be amazed by the large number of scooters, motorbikes, and cars. They are everywhere. Except, that is, in one narrow street on the west side of Hanoi’s old quarter. Families have lived there for years and the children play freely in the road where no cars pass. It all looks very safe and the perfect environment to bring up young people, except for one thing. There is a railway line that runs directly through the centre of the street. Welcome to Train Street.

The 1,726 km Hanoi to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh) railway first opened in 1936. Since then, there has been a huge growth in Hanoi’s population. Buildings and streets have appeared all over this major capital city. Somehow, a narrow street was built either side of the railway track and today a huge train speeds directly through the centre of this friendly neighbourhood two times each day.

People who live there know instinctively when the train is approaching. For the less well-informed, they will first feel the railway tracks and stones beneath their feet vibrating. Then they will hear the very loud train horn that blasts through the air warning everyone to move out of the way. Young children playing in the street are grabbed by their parents and dragged into their homes. Adults press their bodies next to the walls on either side of the street as the train speeds through. There is little room to spare.

The train passes through, leaving behind a trail of oily smoke and dust. It clatters away into the distance. Once gone, everyone returns to what they were doing just moments before – as if nothing has happened.

Only the residents of this street really knew about the train passing through until a few newspapers began writing about it. Once this happened, it was not long before tourists began to appear looking for the perfect selfie. The locals spotted a great opportunity and began opening cafes and bars inside and outside of their houses. Business boomed.

However, one morning in 2019, a train had to be diverted as there were too many tourists on the railway track. The local government decided it was time to put a stop to this tourist attraction before anyone got seriously injured or killed. All the coffee shops and bars have now been closed.

It looked like a sensible decision. The train really does not slow down as it passes along this street. There will always be one tourist wanting to take that perfect selfie standing on the railway line with the train directly behind him or her. However, following COVID, Train Street has now re-opened in an effort to attract more international visitors. It is not quite as unsafe as it once was as barriers have been erected to prevent tourists from getting a little too close to the trains.

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VIDEO: What’s it like living on Train Street in Hanoi?

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