Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City Train: Reunification Express

The Reunification Express (tàu Thống Nhất) links Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with five regular train pairs: SE1/SE2, SE3/SE4, SE5/SE6, SE7/SE8 and SE9/SE10.^[1] The line is 1,726 km long, and the trip takes from 32 hours 45 minutes on SE1 to 38 hours 26 minutes on SE9.^[2] Odd numbers run south from Hanoi, even numbers run north from Saigon.^[2]

Choose by the number of nights you want to spend aboard. SE7 and SE5 leave Hà Nội at 06:00 and 08:00 and reach Sài Gòn at 17:00 and 18:20 the next day, so they need only one night. Going north, SE8 and SE6 leave Sài Gòn at 06:00 and 08:45 and arrive in Hà Nội at 16:20 and 19:14 the next day.^[2]

Which train to take

SE1 is the fastest train but needs two nights: it leaves Hà Nội at 21:45 and reaches Sài Gòn at 06:30 on the third day. SE3 leaves at 19:20 and arrives at 05:30 on the third day. SE9 is the slowest, leaving at 13:00 and arriving at 03:26 on the third day.^[2]

Northbound, SE2 leaves Sài Gòn at 20:35 and arrives in Hà Nội at 05:42 on the third day. SE4 leaves at 19:20 and arrives at 04:36, and SE10 leaves at 13:15 and arrives at 03:40.^[2]

The timetable also decides when you pass the middle of the country. SE3 leaves Huế at 07:55 and reaches Đà Nẵng at 10:43, and SE1 does the same stretch between 10:30 and 13:29. SE7 passes Huế at 19:43 and Đà Nẵng at 22:30, SE5 passes them at 21:40 and 00:36, and SE9 at 03:12 and 06:03.^[2]

Classes and berths

VNR's seat-type list for its timetable and fare system shows air-conditioned soft seats, air-conditioned sleeper compartments with 6 berths and with 4 berths, and a 2-berth compartment.^[2] Not every class is sold on every train, so the booking search is where you see what a given train offers.

In June 2025 VNR quoted the through fares from Saigon to Hanoi as 1.5 to 3.7 million dong for a 4-berth sleeper, 1.2 to 1.457 million dong for a 6-berth sleeper and about 1 million dong for an air-conditioned soft seat.^[3] Those figures come from the summer 2025 peak and fares differ by train, berth and date.

Individual tickets for the five Reunification pairs bought 10 days or more ahead are discounted by 5 to 15 percent for departures up to 30 December 2026, with only 20 tickets per class and train at the discount.^[1]

A child under 6 travels free when sharing the adult's seat or berth, one child per adult ticket. Each further child needs a ticket.^[4] The 25 percent discount for ages 6 to under 10 is listed for children with Vietnamese nationality.^[4]

How to book

Buy from VNR directly at dsvn.vn or in the VNR ticket app, which has App Store and Google Play versions.^[5] VNR also lists railway stations, authorised agents, e-wallets and banking apps such as MoMo, VNPay, ShopeePay, ZaloPay and ViettelPay as sales channels, plus the hotlines 1900 1520 (Saigon station) and 1900 0109 (Hanoi station).^[4]

VNR's purchase guide asks for each traveller's full name and a valid photo ID number, and a passport number is accepted. When you collect a ticket at a station you show the ID that matches the booking code.^[6] VNR's timetable calls the southern terminus Sài Gòn, so search for that name rather than Ho Chi Minh City.^[2]

Sales open in blocks. On 4 July 2026 VNR announced that tickets were on sale for departures from 17 August to 30 December 2026.^[1]

For individual tickets, an exchange needs at least 24 hours before departure and costs 20,000 dong per ticket. A refund costs 10 percent of the fare from 24 hours before departure, 20 percent from 4 to 24 hours before, and is not possible within 4 hours.^[4] Different deductions apply around Tết, the Lunar New Year.^[5]

Stations and stops

Every one of the ten trains stops at Hà Nội, Phủ Lý, Nam Định, Thanh Hóa, Vinh, Đồng Hới, Huế, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Ngãi, Diêu Trì, Nha Trang, Biên Hòa, Dĩ An and Sài Gòn.^[2] Huế, Đà Nẵng and Nha Trang are therefore on every train if you want to break the trip.

Smaller stations are not served by all trains. SE1 and SE2 skip both Tháp Chàm and Bình Thuận, and SE3 does not stop at Bình Thuận.^[2]