HA NOI — The luxury Ha Long Express train service has been discontinued just one year after opening due to lack of demand.
The Ha Noi Railway Company was contracted by South Korean firm Dongrim to operate the service and had a total investment of almost US$1 million. The six-carriage train could seat 310 passengers in leather upholstered luxury, and was equipped with bars and 29 inch-LCD televisions. It was air-conditioned throughout.
The service, which ran from Gia Lam station in Long Bien District of Ha Noi to Ha Long City in northeastern Quang Ninh Province, was launched in April 2009.
Dongrim said the service targeted tourists heading for Ha Long Bay. However, due to lack of demand, the train service was losing money hand over fist – despite the fact that tickets were reasonably priced at between $15 (for tourists) and $5 (local passengers), the company said.
"There were times when there were just five or six customers travelling on the train," said Nguyen Van Dung, a member of staff at Gia Lam station.
Le Hai Long, who is in charge of Dongrim's marketing in Viet Nam, said the infrequency of trains and the unsociable time table had proved unpopular with customers. The Ha Long Express travelled between Ha Noi and Ha Long just once a day, departing the capital at 7am and returning from the port city at 3pm.
"Tourists only counted for a small number of customers. We had to rely on regular domestic commuters, most of whom preferred to take the bus, which runs every fifteen minutes and is quicker," Long said.
Despite its name, the Ha Long Express took five hours to travel from Ha Noi to Ha Long City – a journey a bus can do in 3 and a half hours.
The rail operator blamed the track. "The rail track that Viet Nam often uses is one metre wide, but this train uses 1.435-metre wide rails. So it has to follow the route where the track is wide enough, which entails travelling farther," Long said.
Nguyen Van Binh, vice director of the Ha Noi Railway Company, said greater investment was needed to make the luxury service more attractive to customers.
"We tried to attract foreign investment in order to get better use of the railroad and station facilities but the business was run independently by Dongrim."
The train's carriages were originally used to transport passengers on the Seoul underground. Binh's company was hired to refurbish the carriages for use in Viet Nam.
Binh said his company had tried and failed to get Dongrim to reopen the service.
"At the moment, the Viet Nam Railway Company does not plan to broaden the railroad to 1,435-metre-wide to meet the needs of the Ha Long Express," he said.
Dongrim's Long however said the company would try to reopen the service next February. "We are also thinking of opening another route to the central regions but will have to consider the plan carefully to ensure we can attract enough customers," he said. — VNS
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