On August 20, Mr. Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy Director of Nha Trang Railway Transport Branch (Nha Trang Station, Khanh Hoa), responded to the information "train was 1 hour late, invited to VIP room and charged 20,000 VND".

According to Mr. Tien, the above information is somewhat inaccurate because, through working with the station staff, they all responded that there was no suggestion or solicitation of customers into the VIP room to collect money.

The Deputy Director of Nha Trang Railway Transport Branch said that the VIP room at Nha Trang station is a newly put into use service, so the staff can introduce it for customers to experience.

"When introducing, the staff always informed that VIP rooms will charge a fee; on the other hand, the service fee list is posted in front of this room. Tickets to the VIP room can be purchased when buying train tickets or directly at the counter at the station," said Mr. Tien.

According to the leader of Nha Trang station, the train delay was due to the degraded infrastructure of the railway industry, and many areas on the route needed to be repaired and maintained.

"The station has arranged chairs and fans for passengers waiting for the train. When the train is late, the railway industry will notify and apologize to customers. If customers want to use better services such as air conditioning, quiet space, and toilets, they will have to pay a fee," said the leader of Nha Trang station.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tien said that after this incident, Nha Trang station will thoroughly educate and remind all station staff about inviting passengers to the VIP room to wait for the train. If passengers use it, it is their own will.

Previously, on the evening of August 18, train SE3 going North - South to Nha Trang station was delayed about 1 hour.

When checking in, a foreign guest was suggested by the staff to go to the VIP room to wait for the train, which had air conditioning and a free bottle of water.

Thinking that the railway would compensate the customer for the delay, the customer happily moved to the VIP room to wait. However, when the staff later came and offered to charge 20,000 VND for sitting in the VIP room, the customer reacted strongly and returned the bottle of mineral water that was given for free.

The above customer said that it was not that he regretted spending 20,000 VND, but that such an additional charge was unreasonable.

Mr. DTD, who was on the same train as this foreign guest, also said that the fault for the train not being on time was the railway industry's, so there was no reason for Nha Trang station to spare VIP rooms for guests waiting for a late train or charge an additional VND20,000 to use VIP services.