Saigon station

Railway station in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Preceding station	Vietnam Railways			Following station
Terminus		Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City		Biên Hòa towards Hanoi

Location

Saigon station is a railway station in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The station is a major hub in the national railway network. Located about 1 km from the city center, Saigon railway station is the final station on the North–South railway, and the southernmost point of the Vietnamese railways.^[1]^{[circular reference]} Despite the city being named Ho Chi Minh City after the Vietnam War, the name of the station has remained the same.

History

The first Saigon station, which opened in 1885 as part of the Saigon–Mỹ Tho Railway, was located near the Quách Thị Trang Square in District 1. In 1904, Hanoi-Nha Trang Railway was opened but the first Saigon station was too small, so the colonial authorities decided to move the station. The second Saigon station was located at the southwest of the Bến Thành Market and constructed in 1915. The current (third) Saigon station was opened in 1983 at Hòa Hưng, District 3.^[2]

Every year, one or two months before Tết, thousands of people queue all day at the station to buy tickets home, because it is the main booking office of Vietnam Railways. Though electronic booking machines have been adopted, the queues continue, due to the monopoly of the railway.

The head office is in 136 Ham Nghi Boulevard, Ben Thanh ward, district 1, Ho Chi Minh city.

Binh Trieu station

Due to the requirements of urban planning, the city government is considering the relocation of the station to the city outskirts at Binh Trieu (Binh Trieu Railway Station).^[3]^[4]

References

^ vi:Ga Sài Gòn
^ The Changing Faces of Sai Gon Railway Station, 1885-1983
^ "The Changing Faces of Saigon Railway Station – Future". 14 March 2016.
^ "The Binh Trieu station". International Railway Journal. 42: 32. 2002. An 11km elevated line would run from Hoa Hung to Binh Trieu. This would parallel the existing railway and would be the first stage of a double-track elevated express line to Bien Hoa, a further 29km northeast of the city centre.