Hanoi Train Street: Train Schedule + A Guide to Visiting (2024)
This post serves as a complete visitor’s guide to Hanoi’s famous Train Street, including getting there, train times, where to stay, and safety tips.
In the midst of the chaotic streets of Old Quarter is a truly one-of-a-kind railroad. High-speed locomotives come barreling through the residential area known as “Train Street’ to Hanoi tourists and Trân Phù to the city’s locals.
You’ve probably seen Train Street slathered across your Instagram feed. What makes it so photo-worthy is that it operates like most other streets in the Vietnamese capital, with the difference being a massive, fast-moving train’s tracks in sitting in place of a paved road. It’s lined with tall, narrow buildings, dilapidated and decaying. Women hang laundry lines dangling three floors up. Children run amuck. Residents kill time by sitting on low plastic stools, sipping strong coffee poured over condensed milk.
During this visit to Train Street, I arrived with fifteen minutes between me and the train’s incoming. Rather than rushing to grab a picture like a brave fool, I hunkered down at a café along the railroad and grabbed a watermelon juice. I watched all the locals push their stools closer to the walls and move their laundry basins from off the tracks. After the train passed, I went on to take my photos.
where is Train Street in Hanoi ↴
When I first visited Hanoi, I was worried Train Street would be really hard to find. However, I was surprised when I found out Train Street is quite long, making it easy to find. A lot of travel blogs I read before visiting made it sound hidden from the city, but it’s hard to miss— it’s a railroad after all. There are two sections of Hanoi Train Street: the Old Quarter section and the Lê Duẩn section.
The Old Quarter section is sprinkled with cafés, local shops, and homestays. You can easily walk to this section of Train Street from the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake areas, but it will take you roughly 10-20 minutes depending on where you start. Alternatively, you can get a Grab taxi for very little money. To get here, simply type in “Hanoi Train Street” into Google Maps.
The Lê Duẩn section is a little further out of town and has only a single café along its part of the track. To get here, put Ngo 224 Lê Duẩn into Google Maps. When I visited, the Lê Duẩn section, it was much quieter, and, while there were definitely other tourists there, it wasn’t as busy as the Old Quarter section.
where to watch the train ↴
The best way to watch the train as it rattles its way through the narrow residential street is from one of the many cafés along the track. Owners typically move the stools closer to the wall or tell you to do so when the train is on its way.
The most popular part of Train Street is the Old Quarter section, which makes sense given this section of the street has more cafés and shops to choose from. Both sections have plenty of atmosphere!
Hanoi Train Street schedule ↴
The two sections of Train Street, Lê Duẩn and the Old Quarter, have different train timings.
TRAIN TIMES through the Old Quarter section:
Monday-Friday: 7 PM, 7:45 PM, 8:30 PM, + 10 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 9:15 AM, 11:20 AM, 3:20 PM, 5:30 PM, 6 PM, 7 PM, 7:45 PM, 8:30 PM, 9 PM, + 11 PM
Train Times through Lê DuẩN section:
daily at 3:30 PM + 7:30 PM
Multiple trains run across the tracks every day. These train timings are posted on signs in the windows of cafés along Train Street, and while I think they’re estimations rather than exact timings, they’re relatively accurate in my experience. There’s no need to memorize this timetable— you’ll know the train is coming thanks to alarm bells ringing and café owners hurriedly moving plastic chairs away from the train tracks.
The best time to take photos without crowds is earlier, much like anywhere else. Most people catch the 3:20 PM train traveling through the Old Quarter train on the weekends, so café seating by the tracks might be more limited around that time. The trains typically come from the South.
The road closes a few minutes before the train comes, so make sure you get to a safe spot at a train-track café with enough time.
is Train Street dangerous? ↴
It’s sad that I even feel like it’s necessary to put a disclaimer on this post, but here it is: no photo is worth your life! The trains that hurl themselves down the tracks are massive and there is no stopping them— they will not stop for you (because they actually cannot stop for you). Get your desired photos well before one of the trains makes an appearance. When it’s nearing time for the trains to roll on in, find a spot on the side of the track at one of the many cafés that line the sides of the rails.
