Hanoi Train Street

Is Hanoi Train Street open?

Short answer: half open. The trackside cafés are trading and visitors do sit in them, but access isn’t guaranteed. Vietnamese media describe it as “half closed, half open”: some entrances have permanent barriers (the Trần Phú end, for one), police run sweeps and ask tourists to leave, and within days the tables are back by the rails.

Officially, cafés on the tracks aren’t allowed. Authorities have ordered them closed several times since 2019, and Hanoi’s Department of Tourism has formally told tour operators not to bring groups there. Café owners get fined if guests sit right by the rails, so most of them police it themselves: they seat you behind a painted line and make everyone stand against the wall when a train comes.

The other change is fewer trains. The Ministry of Construction and the city agreed to cut passenger and tourist services and stop freight between Hanoi Station and Gia Lam over Long Bien Bridge — the line through Phùng Hưng. Hanoi had pushed to stop passenger trains there altogether. South of the station, by Lê Duẩn and Khâm Thiên, the main North–South line runs as before.

Train times: when does the train pass?

There is no official timetable for the street. Trains follow Vietnam Railways’ schedule, which changes, and guides quote different times and different numbers of trains a day. On the Phùng Hưng stretch services are also being cut back. That’s why we don’t print times here — any list goes stale fast.

The reliable way: ask at a café. Owners know the next train, often chalk it on a board and warn guests in good time. Arrive 30–45 minutes early to get a seat behind the line and finish your coffee. Trains run late, so don’t squeeze your next stop in tight. Many people come towards evening: the lantern-lit lane looks its best after dark, though it’s busier too.

Where is Train Street in Hanoi?

It isn’t one street but a few residential lanes along the railway just west of the Old Quarter. Houses stand 3–4 metres from the rail, while the official safety strip is 8.6 metres each side. When a train comes through, it fills almost the whole width of the lane.

The main stretch runs between Phùng Hưng and Trần Phú streets, about a kilometre west of Hoan Kiem Lake, on the line from Hanoi Station north to Long Bien Bridge. The second stretch is the alley off Lê Duẩn (map apps often list it as “Ngõ 224 Lê Duẩn”) and Khâm Thiên street, south of Hanoi Station, on the North–South main line. Search “Train Street” or “Phố Đường Tàu” in your map app.

The railway itself is old — the French opened the line to Long Bien Bridge in 1902. The cafés are recent: they appeared around 2018, after photos of trains squeezing down the lane went viral.

Is it safe? Rules on the tracks

• Stay behind the line. Each café has a painted line or a barrier; your chair and bag stay behind it. Move when staff ask you to.
• Follow café staff. When they call the train, stand up and press against the wall or step inside. Keep feet and stools clear of the rails.
• Don’t stand on the tracks for a photo, even if you can’t hear a train yet, and never reach out towards a passing train.
• Hold your phone and bag or keep them on the table, not at the edge.
• Children by the hand and well back; with toddlers, watch from the second row or skip it.
• Barriers and police mean leave. Climbing over is both risky and against railway corridor rules.
• Respect the residents — it’s their home. Don’t walk into doorways, and ask before photographing people.

How much does it cost?

There’s no entry fee — it’s a residential street. But you’ll only be let onto the tracks as a café customer, so plan to buy something. Unofficially, a drink costs about 30,000–70,000 VND, and at busy times some cafés add a small seat charge. Agree the price before you sit down.

Bring cash in dong in small notes: the little trackside cafés rarely take cards. Grab, the main ride-hailing app, works with cash or a foreign card linked in the app.

Don’t pay anyone who offers to get you past a barrier for a fee. There’s no official paid entry, and on sweep days you’ll be asked to leave anyway.

Which stretch to choose

The classic lantern shot is on Phùng Hưng – Trần Phú. If that’s closed or no train is due when you’re there, check the Lê Duẩn stretch, which sits on the main line.

Is Hanoi Train Street worth it?

Yes, if you want Hanoi unpolished: potted plants on doorsteps, laundry over the rails, owners on plastic stools and a diesel engine creeping past a metre away. It’s one of the city’s best-known sights, and an hour with a coffee shows you why.

Skip it if you’re travelling with small children, hate crowds in tight spaces, or are coming only for one specific shot — the train may not come when you need it and the lane may be closed. Have a plan B: St Joseph’s Cathedral and Hoan Kiem Lake are close by.

Hanoi after dark

Hanoi places for the evening scored by YesGo. Tap a column header to sort.

Nearby and on your route

39

Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

Hanoi, Vietnam

1 h 30 min · 100,000 VND · 8 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

52

Hoa Lo Prison

Hanoi, Vietnam

1 h 15 min · 50,000 VND, under-16s free · 10 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Hoa Lo Prison

49

St Joseph's Cathedral

Hanoi, Vietnam

20 min · Free · 11 min walk

Yes — add to my route: St Joseph's Cathedral

43

Temple of Literature

Hanoi, Vietnam

1 h · 70,000 VND, under-16s free · 14 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Temple of Literature

How to do it right

• If Phùng Hưng is fenced off with police around, don’t waste the evening — try the Lê Duẩn – Khâm Thiên stretch or just wander the Old Quarter.
• Pick a café where the owner tells you when the train is due and shows you where to sit.
• Don’t pay middlemen to get you in: there’s no official paid entry.
• Weekdays are easier than weekends and holidays — fewer people and calmer entrances.
• The lane is prettiest under the lanterns at night but busiest too, so come early.
• Afterwards, walk to St Joseph’s Cathedral and Hoan Kiem Lake.

Questions