Vietnam-China train grinds to a halt as nCoV closes in

A train from China's Nanning Railway Station arrived at Dong Dang Railway Station, Lang Son Province at around 11:20 p.m. Monday, carrying a British man and one Vietnamese woman.

After 11 years of crossing the Vietnam - China border, the overnight service from Hanoi's Gia Lam Railway Station to Dong Dang and Nanning, capital of Guangxi Province in southern China, will temporarily halt operations to limit the spread of the new coronavirus (nCoV).

The passenger train service operates one trip a day from capital Hanoi, through Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces, stopping at Dong Dang Station in Lang Son Province, from where Chinese trains take over en route to Nanning. Two services a week depart for Beijing West Station in China on Tuesdays and Fridays, with return journeys commencing on Thursdays and Sundays.

Upon arrival, both passengers were instructed to enter the quarantine room before completing entry procedures.

According to regulations approved by Vietnamese authorities Monday, those who have visited or traveled to China will have to be isolated for 14 days before entering Vietnam.

Passenger Hoang Thi In fills out customs documents upon arrival. She traveled to China's Liuzhou City from Vietnam's Lang Son on January 8.

In undergoes body temperature screening after filling out customs documents.

In will be transported to the army isolation center in Lang Son. After some persuasion, while the British tourist (R) agreed to head back to China the next morning.

16 Chinese employees serving on the train also underwent medical checks.

Gia Lam Railway Station had its last departure for Nanning at 0:55 a.m. Tuesday, after which it would halt all ticket sales to China.

102 passengers came to board the last trip: 95 Chinese, five Vietnamese, one French and one German.

Vietnamese passport holders are encouraged not to travel out of the country and avoid going to epidemic areas.

The Vietnamese government has deployed various measures to combat the virus, including halting all flights to coronavirus-hit areas in China, suspending visas for visitors from those regions, quarantining Chinese workers returning to Vietnam after the Lunar New Year holiday and suspending spring festivities, while temporarily closing schools.

Vietnam has confirmed 10 nCoV cases as of Tuesday afternoon, including five workers coming back from Wuhan, the center of the epidemic.