Off the rails: Hanoi closes trackside cafes thronged by selfie-seeking tourists

Tourists take photos as a train comes down the track along a street in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam September 28, 2019. Picture taken September 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kham

HANOI (Reuters) - It's the kind of shot every Instagram connoisseur yearns for: century-old railway tracks cutting through dusty backstreets, flanked by tourists drinking beer or iced tea mere inches from the slow-moving trains.

The sight has become such a draw in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi that authorities have set a weekend deadline for the removal of dozens of cafes that have cropped up, citing safety concerns.