The train street is crowded with visitors on September 13
Police arrived at the street on Wednesday evening to place barriers at the street following an announcement on the temporary closure of all coffee shops in the area.
Speaking to Dantri/Dtinews on Wednesday afternoon, vice chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, Nguyen Anh Quan, said that the first coffee shops became popular in 2017 and had attracted more tourists in recent years.
Vice chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, Nguyen Anh Quan
The Hoan Kiem District leader said they received a letter from the Vietnam Railway Authority on September 12, asking them to deal with rail safety violations on the street.
"We won't exchange the safety of people for any financial benefit," the official said. "We'll temporarily revoke their business licenses while waiting for the final conclusion from the Hanoi People's Committee and the Ministry of Transport."
The official added that they would study how to make the place a safe tourist spot with minimal disruption to the railway.
"We'll work with the transport ministry to include this spot into a city tour based on the train schedule and the visitor demand," he said.
The two-kilometre train street starts from Le Duan, goes through Tran Phu and Cua Dong and ends at Phung Hung Street. It runs along part of the Hanoi-Dong Dang railway line.
In 2017 and 2019, local authorities also closed all the cafes for encroaching on the railway safety corridor. A number of cafe shops had opened next to the railway and let tourists drink coffee right on the tracks.
In order to reopen, the coffee shops had to pledge to conform to railway safety regulations, meaning that they could only operate indoor services.
However, since the Covid-19 pandemic was brought under control, more visitors have returned to the street.