Metro stations become places for eating, shopping, and entertainment while avoiding chaos

As reported by Tuoi Tre Online , the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade has just sent a document to the Urban Railway Company No. 1 regarding the proposal to pilot a model of supplying essential goods and services at stations on metro line No. 1.

This is considered one of the solutions to develop a commercial ecosystem associated with public transport, contributing to stimulating consumer demand and creating economic growth momentum for the city.

Reader Nhat Nguyen sent Tuoi Tre Online an article providing another perspective on this proposal.

Dating, eating, entertainment, shopping... at the metro station

Every time I have the opportunity to go to Tokyo (Japan) or Seoul (Korea), my friends and I living in these cities always meet at the metro stations. This is easy to locate, convenient to travel, and has many options for dining, entertainment, and shopping.

Not to mention many train stations connect to nearby office buildings, very convenient for my friends to arrange their time and walk there.

A business model that is closely linked to train stations is essential. In countries where train travel is an essential part of daily life, with millions of people using trains to go to work, school, or play every day, almost anywhere there is a train station, there will be shops, restaurants, and even shopping malls.

Big stations have many shops, small stations have fewer but overall are quite convenient.

In some places, there are even programs to help visitors explore tourism and cuisine around the train station with detailed maps of "local" dining places that are both delicious and affordable posted right at the train station entrance.

In some places, the entire surrounding area is linked together, with a series of entrances and exits leading directly to attractions, shopping centers, and office buildings. This creates underground "mini-cities" where people can shop and eat, not just simply take the train.

As in the Tokyo area, Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station are connected to other nearby stations, forming an extremely convenient transportation network, while also forming shopping and entertainment areas to serve the diverse needs of customers.

Even eateries, restaurants, and famous brands are willing to invest in opening stores in the surrounding areas and under the train station.

Same goes for Singapore. When I first arrived here and was invited by a colleague to eat at the underground train station, I was amazed to see thousands of people bustling around underground, the area connecting the train stations, between the train stations and the buildings.

The shops are close together, very beautiful, very clean, very diverse, from cheap to expensive. The next times I came to this island nation, I felt very familiar when walking around the train stations.

Sometimes a small bakery at the train station attracts a lot of customers because it is both delicious and cheap. The feeling of discovering a new, very "local" place with few tourists right underground is also an interesting travel experience that many tourists want to try.

As for Bangkok, with its extensive BTS system, BTS stations often have many small, cute shops located both outside and inside the station, depending on the design of each station.

Along with that are the entrances leading to shopping centers, becoming a place not to be missed by visitors when coming here.

Avoid unsightly designs

With the metro line being invested in and built in a modern way, along with plans to expand and build hundreds of kilometers of metro across the city in the coming years, the development of business and the formation of shopping and entertainment areas connected to metro stations in Ho Chi Minh City is an inevitable need.

Metro stations in the future will certainly not only be for train passengers, but will become public spaces for all people.

To do so, the operating unit and city government should have clear planning and zoning to avoid messy and unsightly designs.

Besides, it is necessary to soon announce the list of items allowed to be sold in the train station area. We should not only focus on food and beverage businesses while leaving out clothing and fashion stores.

Authorities should also consult experts to soon form a commercial area outside, around the train station to have a synchronous planning, along with opening more connections to tourist attractions, shopping centers, office buildings around metro stations.

Controlling the quality of goods, prices, fire safety, maintaining cleanliness, and improving public toilets are also some issues that need attention when doing business at metro stations to serve and operate well when the number of passengers increases.