A doctor boards the train for her morning commute to Bạch Mai Hospital's Ninh Bình campus. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnam Railways (VNR) on Friday put into service two dedicated commuter trains to carry more than 500 medical workers daily between Hà Nội and the satellite campus of Bạch Mai Hospital in the neighbouring province of Ninh Bình, expanding a model it first piloted for civil servants in the coastal city of Hải Phòng last year.

The train pair, designated PL1 and PL2, consists of nine air-conditioned soft-seat carriages, with light meals and beverages served on board during the journey.

Train PL1 departs Hà Nội Station at 6.15am and arrives at Phủ Lý Station in Ninh Bình at 7.22am. The return service, PL2, leaves Phủ Lý at 5.20pm and pulls into Hà Nội at 6.30pm.

Bach Mai Hospital Director Đào Xuân Cơ rides the inaugural service. — VNA/VNS Photo

The authorities of Ninh Bình have arranged shuttle buses at Phủ Lý Station to ferry passengers in both directions to the hospital campus, completing a door-to-door commute loop.

The PL1/PL2 service follows VNR's HP15/HP16 trains, launched in September 2025 to carry civil servants commuting across the expanded Hải Phòng after the former Hải Phòng merged with its neighbouring province of Hải Dương that year.

In nearly nine months of operation, the Hải Phòng service has completed nearly 400 trips, carried more than 170,000 passengers and maintained a seat-occupancy rate above 90 per cent. — VNS