Train in Vietnam

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Train between Hanoi & Saigon - The reunification Express
There are about five to seven services per day between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The fastest train, the Reunification Express takes around 32 hours, while slower and cheaper trains need 50 or more hours.
Train Hanoi to Saigon:  SE1,E1, S1, S3, S5, S7, S9
Train Saigon to Hanoi:  SE2,E2, S2, S4, S6, S8, S10

There are four classes: Soft Sleeper ( 4 birth cabin), Soft Sleeper (6 birth cabin), Hard Sleeper, Soft Seater, and Hard Seater ( no 2 birth cabin)

Train between Hanoi and Laocai
The Hanoi-Lao Cai trains runs every evening, departing from the Hanoi Train Station (120 Le Duan Street) for up to 3 different trains and the same train return to Hanoi from Lao cai.

Victoria Express
The Victoria Express offer more comfortable air-conditioned soft sleepers. The train offer is at its best in terms of comfort and services from Hanoi to Lao Cai and vice versa.  The Victoria  Express  train offers two luxury sleeping carriages, one restaurant connected to the train, all with air-conditioning. Due to the increasing popularity of this alternative, they  offer tickets to those staying at Victoria Sapa hotel only. As the seat on Victoria Express especially Deluxe cabin is limited, booking of your berth (and your hotel room) at least 30 days in advance is recommended.

Ratraco train & Friendly Train
Friendly train like Tulico train is not a separate train, but it is soft sleeper, A.C and clean 4 berth cabin in 2 carriages go with local train (LC5 and LC6) between Hanoi and Lao Cai. The train provide you one bottle of water, small snack and a napkin.

Royal train
To serve the requirement of tourist, Royal train also is a part of normal train with 2 carriages in SP1 and SP2 offer A.C and soft and clean 4 berth cabin.

The tourist bus back to Lao Cai leaves from outside Sa Pa's church. You can ask staff in most hotels to organize a jeep or bus back to Lao Cai train station (they will also organize the train tickets).

Train between Hanoi & Haiphong

Train Note:
Trains are a much better (more comfortable) way than buses when you have to cover long distances. Depending on which class you take you have more or less space, and meet less or more nice, interesting people. However, to make sure you get tickets, you will often have to book well in advance.

Apart from glass, the windows of the trains have a steel mesh to protect the travellers. For even more protection, there is a steel wall that can be pulled down. These are remains of the war, where it was quite usual that people threw molotov cocktails and even stone grenades at passing trains.

Rail tickets are now no problem as it appears to be computerized.  While some meals are provided it's not very clear what is included and what you have to pay for. There is a dining car on the train but  service seems a little erratic and meals turn up at strange times. Hence its wise to stock up munchew or food supply beforehand. Despite what the guides say, there's little opportunity to buy en-route (especially on night trains). There's not the selling frenzy associated with station stops in countries such as  Thailand ...

Trains are a great way to get around if you choose to travel at night, but they aren't for the impatient. This is because they don't go very fast and because there's only one track in the country. Thus, trains have to wait at designated passing places for others to go by. Generally, a 400km trip takes between 9 and 13 hours depending on whether your train is an express or not. Another thing to keep in mind is that whether a train is an express or not doesn't matter nearly as much as where the train is coming from. For example, if you want to go from Nha Trang to Saigon on the express train (which starts in Hanoi), bad weather in the north might delay its arrival. Thus, a non-express ( or regional train )train starting closer to your embarkation point (e.g. in Qui Nhon) might get you to your destination faster than a delayed express.

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