On April 1, staff on train SE6, which left Saigon Railway Station in Ho Chi Minh City at 3.45pm, struggled to clear tracks obstructed with fallen tree branches in the aftermath of storm ‘Phakhar’ in the southern province of Dong Nai, to resume journey on the same day, to the northern province of Nam Dinh.
On reaching Dong Nai Province, the train was caught in the storm fury, which fortunately had abated into a tropical depression by that time. Strong winds and torrential rainfall uprooted trees along the tracks, some of which fell over the railway tracks, but the driver was able to stop the train in time.
Meanwhile, another train arrived from the front and two others from the rear. Unable to advance or reverse, the train conductor decided to clear the tracks. In torrential rain and strong winds, over 10 staff members used hammers, butcher knives and other available tools to chop tree branches and remove them from the track in about 20 minutes.
The train then continued to move through the storm fury, under the admiration of hundreds of passengers.
By March 3, it arrived at Nam Dinh Station and was only one hour behind schedule.
