Last updated August 2024 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle

Tom Divers is the founder & creator of Vietnam Coracle. He’s lived, travelled & worked in Vietnam since 2005. Born in London, he travelled from an early age – his first trip to Vietnam was in 1999 – visiting over 40 countries. Now, whenever he has the opportunity to make a trip, he rarely looks beyond Vietnam’s borders & his trusty motorbike, Stavros. Read more about Tom on the About Page, Vietnam Times and ASE Podcast.

The Hanoi→Hải Phòng train is a spur line service that runs four times daily and can accommodate both passengers and motorbikes. This makes the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train a brilliant option for travellers with two wheels, who can use it to get from the capital to the port of Hải Phòng (or vice-versa), gateway to Cát Bà Island, without having to negotiate the horrible highways between them. Unlike mainline trains, the Hanoi→Hải Phòng service allows passengers to take their motorbikes with them on the same train, thus providing a direct, hassle-free route in/out of the busy capital, bypassing the horrendous industrial sprawl along the highways of the Red River Delta, and straight into the heart of Hải Phòng, from where there’s easy access, by road and ferry, to Cát Bà Island and the rest of Hạ Long Bay. I use the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train regularly with my motorbike for this very reason. It may not be one of Vietnam’s most scenic train journeys, but it is convenient, easy to use, and there’s often a lively atmosphere on board because the carriages are full of students commuting to/from universities and their hometowns.

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HANOI→HAI PHONG TRAIN

Ride the Rails from the Capital to the Coast with your Motorbike On Board

This guide has all the information you need to take the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train, including an annotated map with the rail route and connecting road and ferry routes to Cát Bà Island. As mentioned in the introduction, the Hanoi→Hai Phòng train is especially convenient for roadtrippers because the train can accommodate motorbikes. For travellers without motorbikes, there’s no particular reason to take the train (bus connections between Hanoi, Hải Phòng and Cát Bà Island are fast, frequent and cheap), other than for the pleasure of riding the rails between two of the prettiest French colonial-era train stations in Vietnam. (For more train guides, see Related Posts.)

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CONTENTS:

Route Map

Onward Travel to Cát Bà Island

Train Times & Prices

Booking Tickets

Taking a Motorbike

The Stations

The Trains

The Journey

Related Guides

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ROUTE MAP:

Hanoi→Hải Phòng Train Route

*Book tickets for the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train using the Baolau.com search box below:

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Onward Travel to Cát Bà Island:

Although Hải Phòng is an interesting city in itself to explore for a day, one of the main reasons for taking the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train is to continue on to Cát Bà Island. For passengers without motorbikes, simply take a taxi from Hải Phòng Station to Bến Bình ferry pier, from where fast boats leave several times a day to Cát Bà Town, in the south of Cát Bà Island. (See the purple line on my map.) For passengers travelling with motorbikes, leave Hải Phòng Station and ride east out of the city towards the Tân Vũ-Lạch Huyện Causeway, an impressive piece of engineering spanning 5km of open water at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng River, connecting Hải Phòng with Cát Hải Island. Continue on the highway across Cát Hải Island, past the new VinFast electric vehicle factory, to Bến Phà Gót ferry pier, at the eastern tip of the island. From here, regular car ferries cross the channel to Cái Viềng ferry pier, on the northwest coast of Cát Bà Island. Once on the island, it’s a beautiful 30-minute ride south along the coast road to Cát Bà town. (See the blue line on my map.) The only other alternative route by motorbike to Cát Bà Island is via the scenic Tuần Châu→Gia Luận vehicle ferry.

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Times & Prices:

The Hanoi↔Hai Phong rail service is operated by state-run Vietnam Railways. It’s one of several northern spur lines which fan out from Hanoi, not connected to the main north-south Hanoi-Saigon mainline, known as the Reunification Express. There are four trains in both directions every day between Hanoi and Hải Phòng. Travellers should note that are the three different station stops in Hanoi: Hanoi Central (the terminus on Lê Duẩn Street, not far from Hoàn Kiếm Lake), Long Biên (on the west bank of the Red River, by the famous bridge of the same name), and Gia Lâm (east of the river and the city centre). All times in the train schedule below are from/to Hanoi Central.

The journey takes between 2hrs 25mins to 2hrs 45mins depending on which departure you take. The schedule and ticket prices below are accurate at the time of writing (August 2024), but are subject to change. For current times either check the timetable at any of the stations or check Baolau.com or the Vietnam Railways website. *[To book tickets, use the search box below the train schedule & ticket price list]

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*Train Schedule:

*Ticket Prices:

*Book tickets for the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train using the Baolau.com search box below:

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Booking Tickets:

Booking passenger tickets for the Hanoi↔Hải Phòng train online or in-person is pretty easy. (Note that you will need your passport to book a ticket.) In general, it’s not necessary to book tickets more than an hour in advance, unless you are travelling on a weekend or public holiday, in which case it’s advisable to buy your ticket as early as possible. To book online, either use Baolau.com (or the search box below) or the Vietnam Railways website. Alternatively, booking tickets in-person at any of the stations is fairly straightforward: look for the Phòng Vé (Ticket Counter). At Hanoi Central Station look for the ticket office in the ‘Northern Hall’ (Sảnh Bắc), which is to the right of the main entrance to the station as you are looking at it from the outside. At all other stations, there’s only a couple of ticket counters, so finding the right one shouldn’t be a problem. Note that if you’re taking your motorbike with you on the train, you must buy your ticket in-person at the station of departure (see Taking your Motorbike).

*Book tickets for the Hanoi→Hải Phòng train using the Baolau.com search box below:

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Taking a Motorbike:

General Information: The Hanoi↔Hải Phòng train is one of the few rail services in Vietnam which allows passengers to take their motorbike with them on the same train. This is very convenient as it allows riders to avoid the horrible road journey between Hanoi and Hải Phòng, which is a dull, 100km-ride on traffic-clogged highways through endless industrial zones. By taking your motorbike with you on the Hanoi↔Hải Phòng train, you bypass all the grim factory towns, traffic jams and carcinogenic air that you would otherwise have to contend with if going by road.

Ticket Prices: Most standard motorbikes cost 120,000vnđ (including a handling fee), but larger motorbikes will cost more. Unlike sending your motorbike on the mainline north-south trains, you don’t need to empty the gas from your fuel tank. In general, try to get to the station to book your motorbike tickets an hour before departure, especially if travelling on weekends and public holidays.

At Hanoi Central Station: After purchasing your passenger and motorbike ticket (see Booking Tickets), ride your motorbike to GATE NUMBER 1 (Cửa Vào Ga Số 1D), which is at the northern end of the station building, just beyond the ticket office (see Image 1 below). Ride your motorbike through the gate and onto the platform. On your right, you will see a blue sign reading ‘Hướng đi gửi xe đạp, xe máy đi tàu Hải Phòng‘ (see Image 2 below). Show the station staff (in blue uniform) your ticket and they will direct you to the correct platform for the train. Ride across the tracks (be very careful to look out for moving locomotives) and park your motorbike outside the freight carriage.

At Hải Phòng Station: To load your motorbike at Hải Phòng Station, first go to Counter No.1 (Cửa Bán Vé Số 01) to purchase your passenger and motorbike tickets. Then, ride your motorbike to the right of the station entrance (as you’re facing it from the outside), where you’ll see a blue sign saying ‘Nơi nhận vận chuyển hành lý, xe đạp, xe máy‘ (see Image 3 below). Ride along the platform to the freight car at the back of the waiting train. Here, staff will check your ticket and load your motorbike.

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Departure & Arrival Stations:

The two main stations that travellers need to know in order to take the Hanoi↔Hải Phòng train are Hanoi Central Station and Hải Phòng Station. However, it’s useful to know that the Hanoi↔Hải Phòng train also stops at two other stations in Hanoi: Long Biên and Gia Lâm. All four stations are very attractive, featuring station buildings dating from the French colonial period. Note that if you are taking your motorbike with you on the train, you cannot train from/to Long Biên station.

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Hanoi Central Station [MAP] Located on Lê Duẩn Street in downtown Hanoi, not far from Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Hanoi Central Station is nearly 120 years old. The wide, grand, French colonial building has an incongruous grey concrete box in the middle, which is essentially filling a gap where the station was bombed during the war. The station is big but quite easy to navigate: head to the northern ticket hall (Phòng Vé Sảnh Bắc), which is on the right of the main station entrance if looking at it from the outside. Staff are usually helpful, and there are refreshments and toilets.

Long Biên Station [MAP] A cute little stop, just north of Hanoi’s popular Old Quarter, Long Biên Station stands near the beginning of the famous Long Biên Bridge across the Red River, constructed at the turn of the 20^th century. The cosy and cramped station – in fact, the diesel locomotives dwarf the station building – is walking distance from the narrow streets of the Old Quarter.

Gia Lâm Station [MAP] Located down a side road across the Red River, east of Hanoi’s city centre, Gia Lâm is an interesting building with Art Decor flourishes and a calm, arched waiting hall, only a 10-minute ride from downtown Hanoi.

Hải Phòng Station [MAP] A handsome, century-old, French colonial structure right in the centre of the city, Hải Phòng Station is exactly the kind of place you want to start/end a good rail journey. The staff are polite and efficient, and the tiled-floor waiting hall and wood-paneled ticket kiosks are atmospheric. Tickets and information are easily obtainable from the helpful staff behind the wooden counters. There are some refreshments available at a kiosk in the waiting hall.

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The Trains:

The trains on the Hanoi↔Hải Phòng service are 6-8 carriages in length (much shorter than the trains that ply the north-south mainline) and the level of comfort is totally acceptable. Large windows let lots of natural light in and are great for watching the landscape (or rather the industrial sprawl) glide by. There are toilets and sinks, and the general condition and cleanliness is fine. The air-conditioned soft-seat carriages are comfy and spacious enough, although a little cramped if the seat in front is reclined. There are some electrical sockets for charging your various gadgets. In the fan-cooled, hard-seat compartment (usually just one or two carriages), the cars are filled with wooden benches, which are actually quite attractive: it feels a bit like how I’d imagine a 19^th century steamer crossing the American prairies would – the oak-furnished interiors bathed in an orange glow from the low, dry light of the vast grasslands. Some drinks and snacks are wheeled down the aisle throughout the journey, including bánh giò – hot, steamed dumplings wrapped in banana leaf (would you ever get that on a train in Europe?). There’s really not much to complain about, and even if there was, it’s only a couple of hours.

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The Journey:

In terms of scenery, the Hanoi↔Hải Phòng service isn’t one of Vietnam’s great rail journeys. But it’s still an interesting ride for the 2-3 hours it takes to roll between the capital city and the north’s major port. It’s also a surprisingly bumpy ride (perhaps, because this is a spur line, the rails are not maintained as well as the mainline). There’s quite a bit of rattling and squeaking, and the train rides at a pleasant pace of around 40km-50km per hour. There are several stops en route at Red River Delta towns, mostly part of the vast industrial belt stretching from Hanoi and Hải Phòng. However, between these soot-filled stops, there are acres and acres of rice fields, bisected regularly by earthen dykes and irrigation channels. Stooped farmers – usually women – tend to the rice: harvesting, sowing, spraying, burning. Most of the journey is a play of flat agricultural landscapes disappearing into concrete towns and factories. Rivers and canals are a constant feature, with barges ploughing the thick brown waters. Plantations and allotments grow fruit trees, flowers and vegetables – kumquat, bananas, sweet potatoes, lotus and much more. Passengers are often young Vietnamese commuting to/from their hometowns and universities in the capital. I enjoy witnessing the contrast of Vietnam’s trendy, 21^st century youth riding aboard this creaking, 20th century transportation system.

*Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free and independent. I’ve written this guide because I want to: I like this train route and I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements and my About Page

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