Reunification Express

Two nights along the South China Sea: the Hải Vân Pass clings to cliffs the road never dared.

The French completed their Transindochinois in 1936; four decades and several wars later the rebuilt line reopened end to end in 1976 as the young republic’s proudest symbol. From a soft-sleeper berth the whole country files past at arm’s length. Red River paddies, Ninh Bình’s karst towers, buffalo carts, the lagoon at Lăng Cô and long curves of empty beach below Nha Trang. Slow, rattling and endlessly sociable, it is still the definitive way to take Vietnam’s measure.

Along the way

• Red River delta paddies
• Ninh Bình karst
• Huế’s imperial citadel
• Lăng Cô lagoon
• Nha Trang coastline
• Chăm towers at Tháp Chàm

How this line was checked

• Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 2709148 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within 86 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 21 m from it
• The operator publishes this line's timetable: Vietnam Railways — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the Reunification Express?

The Reunification Express runs 1,726 km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

How long does the Reunification Express take?

The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 33 h for the 1,726 km. That is an average of 52 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 90 km/h.

Who runs the Reunification Express?

Vietnam Railways, with SE sleeper.

How old is the Reunification Express?

The line has been in service since 1936. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does the Reunification Express run?

4–6× daily each way.

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia ↗