A Ho Chi Minh City-based railway firm and travel association will team up with tourism authorities in four south-central Vietnamese provinces to offer low-cost train tours between the metropolis and these localities.

Representatives of the Saigon Railway Co. and the Ho Chi Minh City Travel Association (HTA) will work with tourism officials from Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh to study the feasibility of such a plan.

The HTA said 20 of its company members will participate in the project, which aims to bring tourists to the three provinces and Nha Trang, the capital city of Khanh Hoa, on a high-quality, fully serviced train.

Saigon Railway Co. is expected to turn a standard 64-seat train car to have only 44 seats, thus creating more space and convenience for passengers, in the survey trip between October 17 and 21.

Such a special rail car will also feature free Wi-Fi access and dining services, according to the train operator.

Local tour operators currently do offer train tour packages, but only at a modest number as the train service is not good enough, HTA deputy chairwoman Nguyen Thi Khanh said.

“After this survey trip, HTA members can offer more train tours with cheaper prices, thanks to support from the railway operator,” she said.

The prices for the train package from Ho Chi Minh City to the four south-central destinations will be competitive as the HTA will also receive preferential prices from tourism service providers in these localities, Khanh added.

“We will announce the official prices after this study trip finishes,” she said.

The HTA has been cooperating with local airlines to offer discounted domestic tour packages for years.

More than 100,000 people have booked packages whose prices are slashed 20 to 40 percent in the first nine months of this year, and the association is hoping it can achieve similar success with the train tours.

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