Nguyen Van Binh's family from HCM City's Thu Duc City had initially planned to stay here for Tet, but with the holiday being quite long, they ultimately decided to change their plan.
"I thought that Tet train tickets would still be available, so I didn't book them early. Three days ago, when I went to Saigon Station, I was surprised to find out that all the tickets for routes from HCM City to Thanh Hoa between January 21-27 had snapped up," Binh said.
This situation is similar for shorter routes, including those from HCM City to Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Danang.
According to Le Anh Tuan, Director of the Saigon Railway Transport Branch, the surge in travel demand is the main reason for the rapid ticket sales ahead of Tet. He confirmed that trains from HCM City to northern and central regions had already run out.
During the peak period leading up to Tet, 13 to 17-passenger train services depart from Saigon Station daily, each carrying approximately 500 passengers.
The railway sector will conduct ticket checks at the entrance of Saigon Station during the Tet holiday. Passengers whose details match the information on their tickets will be permitted to enter the station and board the train. Family members accompanying or seeing off passengers can remain in the waiting area but cannot access the platform area.
