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.
The original station, which opened in 1885, was located across from Bến Thành Market in District 1.[2] The current station, originally a baggage holding and shipping centre, was constructed by the French colonists in the early 1930s, as part of the Hanoi-Saigon Railway.
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 Street, Ben Thanh ward, district 1, Ho Chi Minh city.
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]
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.
Major railway stations on the North–South railway | |||
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