Despite being banned, train street cafes are still a favorite destination for tourists. However, behind that beauty are traffic safety risks.
Safety concerns
The Hanoi Department of Tourism recently issued an official dispatch requesting that tourism businesses in the capital not bring tourists to the train street coffee shop.
Accordingly, to ensure safety and security of railway traffic for tourists, the Hanoi Department of Tourism requires travel businesses in the city not to introduce or organize tours to bring tourists to the railway coffee street area, especially in the areas of Cua Nam, Hang Bong and Cua Dong wards.
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| Railway cafes pose potential safety risks. Photo: Thu Trang |
The document clearly states that businesses providing travel services and transporting tourists must seriously implement the measures to ensure order and safety of railway traffic and urban order.
In fact, the coffee business in the railway area continues despite being handled many times due to potential traffic safety risks. Railway coffee is even famous on social networks and introduced by many international newspapers as a must-see destination for foreign tourists when coming to Hanoi. Therefore, despite being banned, tourists still find ways to check-in at railway coffee.
According to authorities, operating coffee shops on railway tracks seriously violates railway safety regulations, for example, the minimum distance between the protection corridor is 3m, but in many areas it is now only 1m...
Mr. T, a long-time resident of the train street cafe area in Phung Hung, shared: “ I find the train street cafe complex, with many potential traffic safety risks. Sometimes, tourists even stand on the train tracks, litter everywhere, and make noise, affecting the lives of the people .”
Meanwhile, Ms. P, who often passes by the area with the train cafe, said: “ Every time I go to work through the train cafe, I feel uneasy. Tourists stand on the street, taking pictures and filming, which is very dangerous. Sometimes it even causes traffic jams .”
Need to calculate the long distance
Many railway cafes are located on the border of Dien Bien Ward (Ba Dinh District), Cua Nam Ward, Hang Bong Ward (Hoan Kiem District). Recently, the authorities have implemented many drastic measures such as: Propaganda, forced clearance of violations, making records of administrative violations, setting up fences to block entrances,... for coffee traders on both sides of the railway.
However, the measures proved ineffective, and were still just "kidnapping and abandoning the plate", so the situation of shops operating along the railway line continued to recur, posing a danger to tourists.
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| Photo: Thu Trang |
In order to effectively manage business and tourism activities in railway coffee districts, it is necessary to build a specific and unified legal corridor. This requires close coordination and consensus from relevant ministries, departments and agencies, in order to create common and clear mechanisms for handling violations.
Good management of railway cafes will bring many practical benefits such as: Ensuring safety for people and tourists; maintaining order and urban beauty; increasing revenue for the budget as well as developing sustainable tourism.
Some possible solutions that can be proposed include: Establishing a specialized Management Board, assigning guards, coordinating information between the station and the neighborhood to announce train departure times, and increasing supervision by local authorities.
International experience shows that it is possible to manage tourist attractions with adventure elements. For example, the Maeklong Railway Market in Thailand applies a warning system, train schedule announcements and strict monitoring. Or in Japan, tourist attractions near the railway are equipped with barriers, signs and separate viewing areas, ensuring safety and respect for the living space of the surrounding people.
Therefore, the management of railway coffee needs to be carried out systematically and scientifically, while learning from international experience will help to maximize economic and tourism potential, as well as ensure safety for people and tourists.
Currently, Vietnam is also having strategic projects in developing railway tourism through the project to restore the first railway line from the French colonial period in Da Lat and Ninh Thuan. Repairing and upgrading old railway lines and stations is a necessary solution in the process of building destinations and attracting tourists. Because currently, international tourists are tending to explore train tourist destinations. This is a new experience, so many tourists are very excited and interested.
Exploiting train tourism in a unique model will create a difference, adding more attractive destinations and experiences. This promises to improve the effectiveness of communication, promotion and attracting tourists to Vietnam. With this new form of tourism, Vietnam will become the top choice for tourists in every journey of discovery, instead of the familiar boring experiences.
Previously, the Vietnam Railway Authority sent a document requesting the Hanoi People's Committee to take measures to prevent and disperse gatherings of people filming, taking photos, and drinking coffee in the railway safety corridor. The Hang Bong, Cua Nam, and Cua Dong wards have organized forces to stand guard, propagate and mobilize people to comply with the Railway Law. “Danger zone” warning signs in multiple languages have been placed at the railway crossings of Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Dien Bien Phu streets… Local authorities are revoking the Business Registration Certificates of violators. Therefore, to ensure the safety of tourists, businesses providing travel services and tourist transportation are required to seriously implement the regulations to ensure railway traffic safety and urban order in the city. |
Source: https://congthuong.vn/ca-phe-duong-tau-khi-ve-dep-tiem-an-rui-ro-377579.html
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