How to exchange ticket at Hanoi train station

After booking train ticket online, you will receive either a trip comfirmation (if you have yet to pay the full amount) or eticket (if you have settled full amount in advance). Both of these documents are valid for exchanging tickets at the train station.

Where is the train station?

Hanoi has only 1 train station, but with 2 different gates. The Gate A on Le Duan street is for North-South line and Gate B on Tran Quy Cap street is for Sapa Train. If you take a taxi, make sure you tell the driver to bring you to GA TRAN QUY CAP so you don’t have to walk a distance to get to the train.

Image: Tran Quy Cap Train station

Where at the station to collect ticket?

At the train station, there is a common office called Pick Up Passengers with logos of King Express/ Orient Express/VN Train. This is a single office where you can get assistance to get on board, exchange ticket and change you ticket. You can do so by showing the voucher that you have and the staff will assist you with exchanging ticket and boarding the train. Location: the office is on the right of the train station, next to the waiting hall.

Getting on board

After passing throught the waiting hall, you will reach the train departure area. Make sure you get on the right train as SP1 and SP3 are 2 different trains with different compartment:

SP1: Fanxipan Express, Orient Express, Livitrans Express, Pumpkin,..

SP3: Sapaly Express, King Express, Victoria Express, VNTrains..

An electronic sign on top of the line can tell you which track to find your train. After finding the right train, you can find the cabin which you are on based on the berth number on the paper ticket.

• Note: these paper tickets are not printed until the day the train departs. That is why we normally send out eticket voucher in advance. The berth numbers are pre-assigned so if you have extra request please let us know.

• If you buy 2 tickets in a 4 berth sharing, you will get 1 upper and 1 lower berth.

• If you buy 1 ticket in a 4 berth sharing cabin, you can request to have upper or lower berth but it also depends on availability.

Train departure/ arrival

All trains in Vietnam departs promptly but their arrival time varies. Sometimes they are late or early by 10-15 minutes, but it can be delayed by 1-2 hour in case of emergency. When you arrange pick up in Lao Cai for example, just let the staff there know which train you are taking and they will check the train hour for you.

This is what a 4 berth cabin looks like. For private cabin, the upper berths will be removed or folded so you have more space and privacy.