Vietnam, China to resume cross-border passenger train service from May 25

By VNA May 22, 2025 | 08:05 pm PT

Visitors stand in front of the Forbidden City, officially the Palace Museum, in Beijing, China, April 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Phong

The Vietnam - China cross-border passenger train service will resume from May 25 after five years of suspension due to the Covid pandemic.

There will be two trains - MR1 and MR2 - departing from Hanoi's Gia Lam Station to China's Nanning Station and vice versa daily.

Train MR1 will depart from Gia Lam at 9:20 p.m. and arrive at Nanning at 10:06 a.m. the next day. In the opposite direction, train MR2 will depart from Nanning at 6:05 p.m. and arrive at Gia Lam at 5:30 a.m. the next day.

Passengers will complete immigration procedures at Dong Dang - Lang Son station (Vietnam) and Pingxiang - Guangxi (China).

From May 27, the railway industry of the two countries will operate direct trains from Gia Lam Station to Beijing Station and vice versa.

A one-way ticket for the Hanoi - Nanning route is about VND1 million (US$38.5) and the Hanoi - Beijing route about VND9.37 million.

Free tickets are available for children under 4 years old, and 50% off for those from 4 to 12 years old. Each adult is allowed to bring one child, groups of six or more people enjoy 25% off ticket fares.

The Vietnam Railways Corporation now sells tickets for the cross-border routes at Hanoi, Gia Lam, Bac Giang, and Dong Dang stations.

The operation of cross-border passenger trains between Vietnam and China is carried out based on the Vietnam-China Border Railway Agreement signed in 1992. Before the Covid pandemic, the Hanoi-Nanning trains ran daily.