A video posted on Facebook showed a woman coming out onto the track and seemingly pose for a photo as the train approached. - Photo: Screengrab from Facebook Video
HANOI: The owner of a cafe in Hanoi’s famous “train street” has been fined 7.5 million Vietnamese dong (US$300) for allowing a foreign tourist to pose for a photograph on the rail track as a train approached.
Hoan Kiem District Police punished the 61-year-old owner of the cafe at No.5 Tran Phu Street in Hang Bong Ward for having no registration licence, and for allowing customers to engage in behaviour that endangered safety.
In a viral video posted to Facebook on June 18, a woman is seen coming onto the track and seemingly posing for a photo as a train approaches.
As the train nears, a man comes running to push the woman to safety.
The man was later identified as the cafe owner.
The street got its moniker from the trains that pass by several times a day, in some places mere inches away from buildings.
Visiting tourists often sit at railside cafes to watch the trains go by, or take photos on the tracks.
Following the incident, the Hoan Kiem District People’s Committee requested that the people’s committees of the wards through which the railway runs intensify inspections and strictly handle any business activities violating railway traffic safety regulations.
Additionally, Hoan Kiem District Police have been ordered to increase their presence to prevent tourists from activities such as eating, drinking, filming and taking photos within the railway traffic safety corridor.
The Hoan Kiem District People’s Committee said that measures must be taken to ensure that people do not engage in dangerous acts that could affect railway operations.
Coordination with the railway sector to man checkpoints and ensure railway traffic safety is also required.
Hoan Kiem District has also instructed the wards and the relevant authorities to continue to educate people on the laws regarding railway traffic order and safety, with a focus on behaviour prohibited by the Railway Law.
More barriers and warning signs should be installed, and more manpower deployed to monitor and address urban order and safety violations within the railway corridor, with strict handling of any violations. - Vietnam News/ANN
