"I'm very frustrated because today I can't go in and take a picture," said Mustaza bin Mustapha, a Malaysian tourist, to the Guardian.
The train driver Nguyen Huu Nam was quoted in the VN Express, a national Vietnamese newspaper, as saying he saw a woman standing close to the track taking pictures. Nam says he sounded the horn but she did not move, forcing him to stop the train just metres away from her.
Nam said it was the third time he had to make an emergency stop at this section of the railway.
"When the train comes near, they get very close to the tracks, or lean out from balconies to hold the phone close to the train. Some people ignore safety warnings and sit back on the tracks and take selfies as the train approaches," he added.
Nguyen Thi Huyen, director of Hanoi travel agency Vietrantour, said the train street is not typically included in travel itineraries of tourism agencies, but many foreign tourists still flock to the place.
"Most international tourists want to experience things that are different and unique and this is a place where they can take photos of Hanoians' daily lives, old trains running on the railway tracks built during the French colonial era."
"Hanoi lacks such unique tourist attractions to woo foreign tourists; therefore, the closure of coffee shops along the railway corridor would be a mistake," she said.
On Thursday morning, the area "wore a desolate look", reports VNS, "especially compared to the vibrant atmosphere of previous days."
Article originally published by nzherald.co.nz on Friday Oct 11, 2019
