Congestion hits Saigon and Hanoi again as migrants go home for National Day

By Thanh Nguyen, Gia Chinh   September 1, 2017 | 05:26 pm PT
Chaos ensued as people rushed home to enjoy the three-day break with their family

In Ho Chi Minh City

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Traffic on Dinh Bo Linh Street, home to Eastern Coach Station, was paralyzed on Friday afternoon. Three security guards from the station and three traffic police officers had to be mobilized to regulate traffic in this area.

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Despite carrying lots of luggage, this group of university students chose to walk through the sea of vehicles to get to the station.

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Many passengers decided to get out of their cabs and run to the station to avoid being late.

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Vehicles could barely move on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, which leads to the station.

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Those who managed to get past the sea of vehicles and enter the station then had to face another sea of people trying to buy tickets.

“We know lots of people will be coming home today so we came to the station and bought tickets two hours earlier,” said Thang from the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

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“I asked many ticket booths but they're all sold out. I plan to come home then stay and work there this time,” Tanh said while walking from booth to booth, looking for a ticket to the central city of Tuy Hoa.

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Loi and his child rest while waiting for their coach. “It's only a three-day break this time so I'll be coming back to Saigon to work on Sunday,” he said.

During the holidays, the number of passengers is twice that of a normal day, according to Nguyen Hoang Huy, deputy director of the station's operating company. “The number of passengers has increased by 2-3 percent compared to last year. Today we've had 1,500 trips, carrying over 40,000 passengers,” he said.

In Hanoi

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Nguyen Trai Street has been free from traffic jams for many months. However congestion returned on Friday afternoon as the 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) street was jam-packed with vehicles moving at a snail's pace.

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Buses in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system could only move slowly on To Huu Street as their exclusive lane was flooded with other vehicles.

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Many coaches that couldn't get into My Dinh Coach Station went to look for passengers on Thang Long Highway instead, resulting in even more chaos on the busy highway.

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This scooter got stuck trying to climb onto the sidewalk to escape traffic congestion on Pham Hung Street.

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A traffic officer regulates traffic from Khuat Duy Tien Street onto Ring Road 3 to prevent congestion at this major junction.

 
 
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