1

Can't really answer your question about arrival times in SaiGon but I lived for four years within earshot of the train line in Hue and the trains seemed to go through at pretty regular times both northbound and southbound.

If they all arrived late there would be problems as much of the line is single track so there is barely space for passing trains going in the opposite direction, never mind overtaking the train ahead or being overtaken by the one later than yours. Plus there are goods trains using the same line so it is quite busy.

The SE trains run daily and take well more than two days to travel the entire journey. In November there can be delays in central Viet Nam due to wet weather. If these delays are substantial there will be news on TV about it but the local railway stations seem to be largely unaware of what is happening much further north or south of their location.

Yes it is quite safe to be at Quang Ngai station around midnight. The stations will have staff and most of the other annoyances that you can experience around stations during daylight will be sleeping somewhere.

I have not arrived at SaiGon station at any ungodly hour but I have arrived in Hanoi at around 4 am (from Lao Cai). You may be swamped by taxi touts so need to keep your wits about you. Stick to Mai Linh but before you actually get in to a taxi check that it is a real Mai Linh cab and not a look alike.

2

Here in the UK, 05:00 (let alone 04:30) are indeed 'awful times before dawn'. Lazy so-and-sos that we are.

From what I've seen at least, in Vietnam, 04:30 or 05:00 seem to be far more normal times to be awake and active, and you'll have no problem finding a taxi to your hotel at that time when the train arrives, for example.

So my advice is not to worry, but book the premier SE1/2/3/4 trains.

If you want to know if SE7 is running, ask a local Vietnamese booking agency such as http://www.vietnamimpressive.com