Although they have served the railway industry for decades with hundreds of trains going up and down the road, for those who serve them, each train is a story with both joy and sadness.
Studying at the same railway vocational school and working in the same industry, Dinh Nhu Luu (47 years old, from Ninh Binh) and Tran Thi Van An (43 years old, from Thai Binh) met and became husband and wife thanks to the trains. They are one of nearly 10 couples who are both flight attendants of the Hanoi Railway Flight Attendant Group (Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company).
Mr. Luu's childhood was closely associated with Cau Yen station (Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh ) when he witnessed the daily work of his aunt and uncle, and his father was also a railway employee. Therefore, he clearly understood the disadvantages that railway employees faced, but he developed a love for train cars without realizing it.
"I always kept in mind that I would not marry a woman in the same industry, but what you don't like is what God gives you. The more you avoid fate, the more it pushes you forward. From being classmates, working in the same industry, we became husband and wife," Mr. Luu happily said.
Having been in the industry since 2002, Mr. Luu has held many positions, from freight train staff, flight attendant to passenger train captain in charge of safety, responsible for safety when passengers get on and off the station, as well as while the train is moving,...
He confided that although working on the train is hard, it is also fun, the fun is being able to go to many places, meet many people and see the wonderful beauty of the country through the window. Perhaps that is why Mr. Luu has become a "homegrown poet" of the Hanoi Railway Attendants Group. Here, everyone knows the nickname Luu "Poetry".
He bragged to reporters: “I have had a passion for writing poetry since high school, and have composed many poems. If I have good poems, I post them on social media for my friends to read, and if I have less confidence in them, I write them down in a notebook as a souvenir.”
Regarding the railway industry alone, Mr. Luu has composed more than a dozen poems, most of which describe the natural scenery and country seen through the train window or the feeling of missing the train and passengers during a long holiday, which is expressed affectionately in the poem Train Whistle:
Miss you so much! The river with the mountains and hills
Along the country though far away
Both sides are filled with sunshine and white flowers
Like waving, like greeting the train whistle!
Or like the "confession" of the railway employee every time the train is delayed in the poem "I'll Make Him Pay":
The train is here, baby!
The sun is red on the horizon
Although a bit behind schedule
Please understand! Smile!
His wife, Ms. Van An, is a flight attendant serving food and drinks to passengers on the train. Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, she said that at first she did not think of marrying Mr. Luu but only considered him a close friend. But the fire near the straw eventually caught fire, and in 2005 they decided to get married and had a son.
At first, Mr. Luu worked in the railway transport exploitation department at Yen Vien station (Gia Lam, Hanoi) and Ms. An worked at the Railway Attendants Group. When they first got married, although they worked in the same industry, the couple often found themselves in a situation of "long-distance love", far from home and family. It was not until November 2011 that Mr. Luu decided to transfer to work at the same agency as his wife.
“When our child was young, my husband and I worked in different teams and shifts. Later, unfortunately, our family had an accident, so we asked to work in the same team to make work more convenient,” she confided.
Continuing his wife's words, Mr. Luu added that the incident happened in 2017, on the way from work to home, Ms. An unfortunately had a traffic accident. The strong collision had a negative impact on her health and psychology, so she could not move by motorbike. Therefore, he decided to ask for a transfer so that the couple could work in the same team, on the same train.
Every time she goes to work, Ms. Le Thanh Hai (47 years old, from Yen Bai ), a member of the Hanoi Flight Attendant Group, has to wake up at 11pm, prepare her luggage, then "hide" from her child and go to Yen Bai station to catch the 00:10 train and arrive in Hanoi around 5am.
Without much time to rest, she immediately got to work preparing, cleaning the train car, and going to the desk to receive the assignment for the Hanoi - Saigon train departing at 3:30 p.m. The daily work of a flight attendant like Ms. Hai is to clean the train compartment, check tickets, guide passengers to board the train, arrange seats, and help passengers settle into their seats and belongings before the train moves.
When meeting elderly passengers, people with disabilities, patients or pregnant women, Ms. Hai and her colleagues are always enthusiastic to help. They consider it their duty to help wholeheartedly, to the best of their ability.
Talking about past memories, Ms. Hai's voice suddenly dropped, her eyes filled with tears, recalling the 22 years of journey on the trains going up and down. The woman had witnessed many stories on the trains all the way from North to South, some happy but also sad.
“There are different types of passengers, some are very friendly and enthusiastic with the flight attendants, while others are quick to anger and rude. One time, as usual, when passengers got off the train, I was cleaning the train compartment but was interrupted by a male passenger.
Although I explained about the job, this person ignored me, even showed an attitude, slammed his hand on the table and shouted loudly, wanting to fight. At that time, I was scared pale, found a corner with no one around and cried," Ms. Hai said.
She confided that being a train attendant is a special job, requiring her to stay on the train all the time, so there are many disadvantages. She remembers when she first gave birth or when her child was still young, she had to perform many tasks at the same time, being a wife, a mother and a railway service employee. Every time she went to work, she had to be away from home for 3-5 days.
In this profession, being away from husband and children is inevitable, especially during holidays and Tet, having to stay on the train is both a joy and a sadness. I am happy because I am taking people far from home to reunite with their families, but I am sad because I cannot reunite with my family in the sacred moment of welcoming the new year.
For trains running through New Year's Eve, when free, brothers and sisters on the train organize year-end parties, welcome the new year, send wishes and encouragement to each other,...
“Behind those moments, women's emotions rise up, sometimes making me feel speechless and sad because I miss home and my children,” she confided.
After 22 years in the profession, she said that her love for the job is so great because it allows her to go to many places, meet many people and have many interesting experiences. Although the job is hard and the working hours are long, the flight attendant decided to stick with the job until retirement.
She always hopes that the railway industry will develop more and more, with more high-quality trains and high-speed trains. Then she will be able to serve more passengers and customers will also have more good experiences and good impressions of the industry, especially about the train attendants.
For Mr. Phung Anh Tuan (47 years old, Train Safety Officer and Flight Attendant), since he was a child, his father took him to the train station or stood next to the tracks to observe the trains going up and down. Or simply through the images of railway works, the stories his father told him about the profession, he did not know when he fell in love, longed to be attached to it, to serve passengers.
His love for trains grew, and after finishing high school, Tuan decided to enroll in a railway training school. After graduating, he worked at the Vietnam Railway Corporation for more than 20 years.
He said, each train journey is a story. Talking about those moments, he recalled a day in May 2022, on the journey from Hanoi to Saigon, when the train arrived at Yen Trung station (Ha Tinh province), he met a special guest.
It was a man over 60 years old, disabled in both arms and legs, being carried by a relative on a motorbike to the train station. Seeing that moment, he was silent for a moment. A moment later, he quickly carried the special guest to the reserved seat on the train.
When he carried the guest to the chair, he confided that the guest had been born with a congenital disability, making it difficult for him to move around and do daily activities. However, instead of resting, this guest chose to travel from Ha Tinh to Nha Trang to sell lottery tickets or do whatever he was hired to do to make a living.
“The image of a disabled but not useless person has become the motivation for me to stick with this profession until today and in the future,” Tuan shared.
Later, Mr. Tuan had the opportunity to meet the special guest a few more times. The old man became a regular customer, traveling at least four times a year on the North-South trains. While chatting happily, his voice suddenly dropped, he took a breath and sighed when talking about income.
He said that the income of the train attendants depends on two factors: the number of trips and the number of passengers. The more trips, the more passengers on the train, the higher the income of the staff.
During peak periods like recent months, on average, flight attendants earn 5 or more trips per month, earning around 7.5 million to more than 10 million VND.
“When there are few passengers and few ships, our income is very low, around 5 million VND. Those who have a house in Hanoi can still afford it, but those who have to rent a room and have high living expenses will not be able to cover their expenses,” Tuan confided.
After each train trip, which usually lasts 3 to 5 days, the flight attendant gets 2-3 days off. In his free time, he goes to the sorting warehouse of some logistics companies to work part-time or turns on the app to become a technology motorbike taxi driver; for many months, the income from his left-hand job is higher or equal to his right-hand job.
The kitchen is about 15 square meters wide but contains everything like a refrigerator, food, washing area, pots, pans, and woks... and up to 4 gas stoves, the remaining space is only enough for one person to manage.
When all four stoves were operating, Chef Pham Van Khai (34 years old, from Nam Dinh), an employee of the Hanoi Railway Attendants Group, compared the "stove to a hot furnace", and if someone was not used to it, they could only stand it for 5-10 minutes before having to crawl outside to breathe. Yet this chef has been attached to the kitchen for 14 years.
He confided that cooking on the train is like “learning martial arts”, it requires both flexibility and firmness. Firmness means that both legs must be steady, sometimes bending the knees, lowering the center of gravity as if standing in a stance to maintain balance every time the train starts or brakes; softness means having to move smoothly and rhythmically according to the “dance” of the train entering a corner, otherwise if you are not careful, the food being cooked in the pan or held in your hands can fall to the ground.
At Hanoi station, food, fresh vegetables, clean water, etc. to prepare dishes served on the train have been carefully prepared. If there is a shortage, additional supplies need to be added at other stations. All ingredients must meet the strict standards of the railway industry, have clear origins, and avoid food safety incidents.
In the cramped kitchen, the reporter could clearly feel the hardship as Mr. Khai struggled with the pan of salted fried peanuts. Although it was winter in the North, the weather was still sunny and the head chef was always drenched in sweat from the heat radiating from the stove. As the only chef on the ship, while stirring the peanuts, Mr. Khai had to prepare ingredients to prepare other dishes.
“Meals on trains are not as luxurious as on planes, and are not prepared in advance, so the chef has to prepare everything from A to Z. There are usually only a few main dishes such as white rice, braised pork, sweet and sour ribs, fried chicken, stir-fried vegetables, soup, etc. In addition, there are also instant noodles and porridge when customers request more,” said Mr. Khai.
As a member of the train crew, Mr. Nguyen Tran Van Luu, Passenger Train Leader, Hanoi Railway Attendant Group highly appreciated the capacity, spirit and responsibility of all members of the team.
He shared that normally on North-South trains there are more than 20 members, doing all the work. On the locomotive there is a driver and assistant driver, each passenger car has 1 attendant, the kitchen car has 1 chef and 1 attendant serving food. In addition, the positions of security, safety, security, etc. are all taken care of by people.
Most of the staff on the train are from the Central region, Hanoi and the northern provinces. Many people live hundreds of kilometers away from their offices, and every time they go to work, they have to hitchhike the train the day or night before to be on time. Those who are not convenient to the station have to rent a room in Hanoi, which incurs many additional costs.
“Working on a ship is the same for everyone, it’s hard. Men have to leave the housework and children to their wives or to their in-laws. Women have it even harder, especially when their children are young, they can only go home for about 2 to 3 days after each ship trip,” Mr. Luu confided.
However, the salary of railway staff is not high, people like Mr. Luu, Mr. Khai, Ms. An, Ms. Hai... some have been working for nearly 15 years, some have been working for more than 20 years but their income is only about 7 to more than 12 million VND. This is the income level during peak season, but when the train has few passengers, the number of trips is low, the income is only around 5 to 7 million VND.
“If you deduct rent, children's education, travel and living expenses, there's not much left. When sick, many people have to run around and borrow money everywhere,” the train captain confided.
As Mr. Luu interrupted, the loudspeaker reminded the passengers, the last passengers hurried to catch the train. The engine blew a long whistle, the train started rolling to the South. The attendants waved goodbye to the reporters through the window. For them, a new journey had begun…
12/09/2024 – 05:16
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/hoi-coi-hoa-xa-ky-1-nghe-tiep-vien-duong-sat-linh-du-vi-dang-cay-20241203224903766.htm
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