Good morning from Saigon Railway Station! The national railway company in Vietnam resumes operations. Most passenger services on the North–South Railway line have returned to normal schedule. Join us on board Vietnam Railways express train SE6 from Saigon bound to Hanoi. 
After 3 hours of journey, the SE6 train passes by Binh Thuan province, the land of the dragon fruit. Here, the Saigon–Phan Thiet branch line separates from the North–South main line.
We arrived to our destination, Thap Cham Railway Station, serving the coastal city of Phan Rang in Ninh Thuan province.
The railway station 'Thap Cham' takes its name for the Champa Towers, a site of religious temples dated from the IX century remnants of the former Champa kingdom based in South Central Vietnam.
Thap Cham once served as the terminus station for the Đà Lạt–Tháp Chàm Railway, a rack railway built in 1932 during the French Indochina period connecting the coast with Da Lat in the Central Highlands.
Ninh Thuan province is renowned for having one of the most beautiful coastlines in Vietnam. The road between Phan Rang and Cam Ranh offers the most impressive views of pristine beaches, fishing villages and clear blue sea.
We are back at Thap Cham Railway Station. From the platform we have excellent views of Po Klong Garai Temple, built in the 13th century. According to legend, when the Khmer invaded the Champa, the king challenged them to settle the matter peacefully in a tower-building contest.
And the SE5 enters the station at 12:46. This train departed from Hanoi yesterday morning at 08:50 AM. After more than 27 hours of journey, the train arrives on time to Phan Rang. The punctuality of trains in Vietnam is astonishing given the existing railway infrastructure.
As we leave Thap Cham station and head south, the train passes by the sea side. Time to relax. It's 6 hours until we arrive to our destination, Saigon.
And finally the train SE5 arrives at Saigon Railway Station, the terminus of Vietnam's main North–South railway line. The whole journey from Hanoi took 34h 05m and the train made it on time at 18:55.
Thank you for you joining our journey. If you want to travel from Saigon to Phan Rang by train, you can find the schedules and book your tickets online at 🚆 baolau.com/s/ho-chi-minh/…. For more information, please check our 📒 Train Guide in Vietnam baolau.com/en/transportat…
