The Evolution of Railway Fares: Understanding the Dynamics Behind Rising Ticket Prices for the Lunar New Year

Reasons for the Increase in Tet Train Ticket Prices

With more than two months to go until the Tet holiday, many migrant workers are already making plans and booking their tickets home. Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh, a factory worker in Dong Nai, shared that she started looking for train tickets to her hometown in Thanh Hoa in mid-October. Ms. Oanh’s family consists of her, her husband, their two children, and her parents. In previous years, they opted for train travel to avoid the exhaustion of long-distance travel.

“This year, I looked into train tickets for six people from Saigon to Thanh Hoa. Considering my elderly parents and young children, I planned to book sleeping berths for a more comfortable journey. However, the ticket prices have increased compared to last year. Currently, the price for a sleeping berth ticket ranges from 1.9 to 2.1 million VND, while an air-conditioned soft seat costs around 1.6 million VND. With the company cutting down on overtime work, our income has decreased, and this rise in ticket prices adds a significant amount to our expenses,” Ms. Oanh said. She estimated that, for her family of six, the increased ticket prices would cost them an additional 600-700 thousand VND.

Ms. Oanh’s concerns are shared by many other migrant workers. While train travel offers advantages such as safety and stable departure times, the 3-5% increase in Tet train ticket prices has caused worry among those already facing financial challenges.

In 2025, the railway sector has discontinued the policy of selling extra seats, and the option to convert sleeping berths into seats is no longer available. The focus on passenger capacity is expected to lead to improvements in service quality.

Supporting Vulnerable Passengers

In a conversation with Tien Phong, a leader from the Vietnam Railway Administration (under the Ministry of Transport) explained that according to regulations, the Ministry of Transport manages the floor price for hard and soft seat tickets. For other ticket types, such as soft seats and sleeping berths, the Railway Transport Joint Stock Company determines the prices based on their train operation plans. Currently, the freight rates for passenger transport by rail for hard and soft seats must be declared to the Ministry of Finance and posted as per regulations.

According to expert Ngo Tri Long, transportation during the traditional Tet holiday is an essential need for the people. The increase in train ticket prices will cause concern among vulnerable groups, such as low-income workers and students, as it adds to their expenses. Therefore, Mr. Long recommends that, along with the price increase, the railway sector should implement supportive policies for disadvantaged workers.

“The railway sector has been operating at a loss for many years, so the price increase may help improve revenue and service quality, making it more competitive with other modes of transportation. However, given its unique characteristics, the railway sector needs to ensure transparency in the use of the additional revenue from the price increase and improve service quality to balance development requirements and social security, especially for vulnerable passengers,” Mr. Long suggested.

The Tet 2025 train schedule is planned to operate from January 15 to February 16, 2025 (December 16 to January 19 on the lunar calendar). During this period, there will be 22 train pairs running daily, including nine train pairs on the North-South route (Saigon – Hanoi) and 13 train pairs on the short-haul routes (to provinces and cities).