entire Vietnamese railway network was a target of bombardments and sabotage by both North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese forces. The Da Lat–Tháp Chàm line was no exception; plagued by sabotage and mining by the Viet Cong, the line gradually fell out of use, with regular operations coming to an end in 1968. After the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the Communist government of the newly unified Vietnam took control of the former South Vietnamese railway. Heavily damaged by bombing and sabotage by both North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese forces and their allies, the war-torn North–South railway line was returned to service on 31 December 1976, promoted as a symbol of Vietnamese unity. Many abandoned railway lines—such as the Da Lat-Tháp Chàm line—were dismantled to provide materials for the repair of the main line; unused materials were sold as scrap metal. Restoration In the 1990s, a section of the line between Da Lat station and the nearby village of Trại Mát was restored and returned to active use as a tourist attraction. A planning document released later, in 2002, listed the restoration of the entire Đà Lạt–Tháp Chàm railway as a priority for infrastructure development for Đà Lạt and Lâm Đồng Province, including the upgrading of Da Lat station and other stations along the routes to handle passenger and cargo transportation. The proposed renewal received the backing of provincial and local governments, and the national government indicated that private companies would also be allowed to participate in the reconstruction of the railway. The project would also include a connection to the North–South railway at Tháp Chàm, allowing trains to circulate between Da Lat and the rest of the country for the first time since the Vietnam War. In December 2009, four rail cars restored to look like the rail cars used on the Da Lat–Tháp Chàm line in the 1930s were put into use on the Da Lat–Trại Mát tourist railroad, carrying signage reading "Dalat Plateau Rail Road". Stations Da Lat station, built in 1938, was designed in Art Deco style by French architects Moncet and Reveron, although it incorporates the high, pointed roofs characteristic of the Cao Nguyen communal buildings of Vietnam's Central Highlands. The three gables, said to represent the three peaks of Dalat's iconic Lang Biang mountain, are also reminiscent of Normandy's Trouville-Deauville Station. The station's unique design—with its roofs, arching ceiling, and coloured-glass windows—earned it