The second floor of the cafes, usually crowded with tourists eager to see passing trains, was completely deserted on Tuesday.
On Monday, police conducted a surprise inspection, forcing hundreds of tourists, including foreigners, to leave the area due to safety concerns.
Following the crackdown, most shops closed their businesses, while a few remained open but had no customers.
Around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, dozens of foreign tourists gathered at the entrance on Tran Phu Street but were reminded and asked to leave by residents living at the start of the street.
By this time, authorities had already left.
Barriers have been installed at a small path leading to the train tracks on Phung Hung Street.
Most of visitors flocking there are foreigners and independent travelers who are unaware that the train tracks are a restricted area.
Many have asked when the Train Street will reopen, expressing that they "traveled a long way" just to see the famous train scene that has gone viral on social media.
Some people ignored the warning signs and stand on the tracks to take photos.
Train Street, lined with makeshift cafes just feet from the tracks in the Old Quarter, was officially closed in September 2022 due to safety issues.
Despite barricades and checkpoints at both ends of Tran Phu and Phung Hung streets, several cafes continue to operate, attracting large crowds of mostly foreign tourists, especially on weekends.
Chen, a Singaporean tourist, said the neighborhood was popular with foreigners. She had seen pictures of the area on YouTube and wanted to check it out but was surprised to find barriers.
"I thought it would be a fun experience, but the neighborhood does not look as nice as it does online," she said.
A shop owner scrolls through her phone as the area remains forlorn.
A commander of Traffic Police Team No. 1 stated that authorities had issued multiple warnings, but violations of railway traffic safety regulations at the Train Street continued to occur, posing risks of traffic accidents.
Ngoc Tu, 48, said this was the first time Train Street had been inspected this year. She said businesses there always remind customers to leave the tracks 15 minutes before the train passes.
"I have been to many places like China and Thailand, and I've seen them use railways as tourist attractions, which is very impressive," she said, adding that there are many ways to tap into the neighborhood's potential instead of closing it.
She explained that many domestic tourist attractions spend a lot of money on tourism promotion, but Train Street "has its own charm."
Tu hoped that authorities will find a feasible solution to manage the neighborhood instead of closing it.
A shop owner sits with empty seats on Train Street on Tuesday.
Before, when there were no police officers checking, the coffee shops on the train track were almost always full of customers.
