Quang Nam finds a way to "join" the Central region heritage train

Stakeholders survey railway tourism development at Tra Kieu station. Photo: QT

Choose Tra Kieu?

The local tourism management agency recently held a meeting with Vietnam Railways Corporation and tourism businesses on June 17 to determine the specific plan to promote railway tourism. The meeting took place in the context of the "Central Heritage Train" after 3 months of operation on the Hue - Da Nang route and vice versa, achieving many positive results.

The Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City railway line through Quang Nam is 91.5km long, including 8 stations: Nong Son, Tra Kieu, Phu Cang, Tam Thanh, An My, Tam Ky, Diem Pho, Nui Thanh. Of which, there are 3 stations for picking up and dropping off passengers: Tra Kieu, Tam Ky and Nui Thanh.

At the meeting, the leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam assigned relevant units to urgently complete plans and projects so that the Da Nang - Tra Kieu train can be put into trial operation as soon as possible. The leaders of Vietnam Railways Corporation pledged to strongly promote so that this train line can operate in the second half of 2024.

All parties involved agree that if promoting railway tourism in Quang Nam, focusing on connecting and expanding the Hue - Da Nang heritage train route, Tra Kieu station is the most suitable.

Because Tra Kieu station has invested in relatively stable infrastructure, it can serve tourism; the distance from the station to the two world cultural heritages, Hoi An and My Son, is less than 25km. In addition, the Tra Kieu place itself also carries many unique historical marks associated with the land and people of Quang.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Khiet - Director of the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board said that if the Da Nang - Tra Kieu tourist train route is implemented, the unit is very supportive and ready to calculate the plan to provide cultural experiences for train passengers as well as preferential ticket prices to the temple tower area...

Mr. Tran Anh Tuan - Deputy General Director of Vietnam Railway Corporation said that because it is not far from Da Nang station, the train departure and arrival times at stations in Quang Nam, including Tra Kieu station, are quite beautiful, it can be said to be the "golden hours", there are very few trips arriving at night, which is a favorable factor for exploiting tourism.

Leaders of Vietnam Railways Corporation expect the "heritage train" Da Nang - Tra Kieu to be operational in 2024. Photo: QT

Recently, the stations in Quang Nam have also had their infrastructure upgraded strongly. Deploying a tourist train through Quang Nam is not difficult. The unit can prepare the necessary conditions for the train to run within a few weeks.

The problem is to carefully calculate so that the Da Nang - Tra Kieu train route operates effectively, continuing the impressive experience of tourists after the Hue - Da Nang route.

Is it possible?

Updated data from Vietnam Railways Corporation shows that the number of passengers arriving and departing from Tam Ky station reached 520, Tra Kieu reached 81, and Nui Thanh 98 on Sunday.

The total number of passengers arriving at Quang Nam stations is only about 10% of the number of passengers arriving at Da Nang station and about 15% of the number of passengers arriving at Thua Thien Hue stations. Furthermore, the number of passengers arriving at Quang Nam station is currently mainly local people and there are almost no tourists.

According to calculations by Vietnam Railways Corporation, to operate a tourist experience train for a long time, the occupancy rate must reach about 60-70% in 6-7 train cars. Therefore, to have a tourist train route through Quang Nam depends a lot on the cooperation of tourism businesses to connect the customer market.

The expansion of the Central Vietnam heritage train to Quang Nam needs to calculate an effective exploitation plan with a different experience, continuing the experience from the Hue - Da Nang heritage train route. Photo: QT

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ha - Vice Chairman of Quang Nam Destination Club for Preserving Indigenous Values ​​said that currently, the road transportation serving tourists from Da Nang to Hoi An and My Son is very convenient with short travel time.

Therefore, if you want to attract passengers on the Da Nang - Tra Kieu train, you must have a truly unique local cultural experience. In addition, you must calculate suitable tour packages, products, and services that are convenient after passengers get off at Tra Kieu.

According to a representative of Hoi An Express, the main market exploited by the unit is European - American - Australian customers and this customer segment is quite interested in heritage-related products in the Central region, so expanding the heritage train experience in Quang Nam is feasible.

Currently, the unit still operates passengers traveling from Hue to Da Nang by road. If the heritage train route is expanded, it can consider changing the departure or return direction of passengers to travel by train to increase the experience. In the long term, when put into operation, if "charter" trains are deployed, it will be more convenient for the operating unit because it can take the initiative in terms of quantity.

Mr. Le Quang Hieu - Deputy Director of the Department of Transport said that some concerns of the parties about the auxiliary traffic infrastructure for Tra Kieu chicken or the bus route serving passengers on this route are not bottlenecks.

"The most important thing is to have a specific plan and scenario to operate the Da Nang - Tra Kieu route, from which we can calculate the plan to attract customers or the corresponding infrastructure," said Mr. Hieu.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/quang-nam-tim-duong-nhap-cuoc-chuyen-tau-di-san-mien-trung-3136621.html