New Government directive on strengthening railway traffic order and safety in the new situation

The Directive stated: In recent times, under the leadership and direction of the Party, the Government, the Prime Minister, and the participation of ministries, branches, and localities, the work of ensuring order and safety of railway traffic has had many positive changes, traffic accidents related to railways have been controlled, contributing to improving the efficiency of railway exploitation to serve the country's socio-economic development. However, the situation of railway traffic order and safety is still complicated, with many potential risks of causing traffic accidents. In 2024, there were 120 railway traffic accidents, killing 83 people and injuring 26 people; there were 98 cases of throwing soil and rocks onto trains, injuring 01 person, breaking 107 glass doors of all kinds, affecting traffic order and safety, social order and safety; In the first 7 months of 2025, there were 65 railway traffic accidents, killing 45 people and injuring 16 people. On March 10, 2020, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 358/QD-TTg approving the Project to ensure order in traffic safety corridors and completely handle self-opened walkways across railways, with a roadmap to completely eliminate self-opened walkways by the end of 2025; however, as of June 2025, the implementation progress is slow. Up to now, only 1,237/4,065 self-opened walkways (reaching 30.4%), 566 violations of railway corridors have been cleared, and 11,569 remaining spots have not been cleared.

The causes of railway traffic accidents are due to road vehicle drivers not paying attention, not obeying the commands of signs and signals when crossing level crossings, self-opened paths; stopping, parking, turning vehicles within the level crossing; violating railway traffic safety rules... In addition, the authorities of some localities have not fully fulfilled their responsibilities, have not been resolute in handling violations of railway corridors, eliminating self-opened paths across railways; the coordination between state management agencies, enterprises and local authorities in ensuring railway traffic safety and order in some places is not tight, not very effective; the awareness of compliance with railway laws of a part of the people is not high; the railway traffic infrastructure has been invested in and built for a long time, has not been upgraded or repaired synchronously; sanctions for violations in the field of ensuring railway traffic order and safety are still light, not enough of a deterrent.

Synchronously implement solutions from central to local levels to ensure railway traffic safety.

To continue to effectively implement the work of ensuring railway traffic safety, it is necessary to drastically and synchronously implement solutions from the central to local levels to proactively prevent, stop and reduce railway traffic accidents. The Prime Minister requested the ministers of the Ministries of Construction, Public Security, Health, Science and Technology, Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities with railways passing through and relevant agencies to identify the work of ensuring railway traffic order and safety as an important task. Each ministry, branch and locality, according to its assigned functions and tasks, must review programs, plans and assigned tasks to effectively implement the Party and State's guidelines and policies on ensuring railway traffic order and safety, focusing on the work of developing and promulgating documents detailing the implementation of the Railway Law (amended) passed by the 15th National Assembly at the 9th Session; Solutions need to be implemented resolutely, persistently and regularly to ensure safety for railway operations and activities of people in areas where railways pass through; the implementation process must be specific and detailed in accordance with the characteristics of each locality; clearly assign tasks of leadership and coordination, have a mechanism to control the progress and quality of tasks; consider and handle the responsibility of heads of agencies, units and local authorities who lack attention, direction, inspection, examination, supervision or do not fully perform their duties and tasks within their management scope, leading to traffic insecurity and railway traffic accidents.

Handling of violations of railway infrastructure

The Minister of Construction directed to strengthen state management of railway transport activities, strictly implement regulations on railway business conditions; coordinate with local authorities to review key locations on railway lines, bridges, railway tunnels, and level crossings, detect potential railway traffic accident points, shortcomings in traffic organization at level crossings, and propose measures to overcome railway traffic infrastructure. Strengthen inspection of the implementation of legal provisions, technical standards and norms on ensuring order and safety of railway traffic for railway staff directly serving train operations, quality of repair and maintenance of railway infrastructure, etc.; proactively coordinate with local authorities and the police force to increase patrols, control, and strictly punish violations of railway traffic safety corridors, violations at level crossings, and self-opened paths across railways according to regulations; Proactively provide the locations of level crossings and railway crossings to information service providers and integrate them into the database to warn users before crossing railway crossings.

Investors speed up the progress of railway infrastructure projects and key projects. Direct functional units to have solutions to ensure safety for traffic participants during the construction, renovation and repair of railway infrastructure.

The Ministry of Construction shall strengthen inspection and handling of violations of railway traffic infrastructure; review and supplement all signs, stop lines, speed bumps and humps at intersections between roads and railways within the scope of management and connect road and railway signals at level crossings on national highways to warn and guide people to cross safely; closely coordinate with local authorities to organize the removal of self-opened paths, handle violations of railway traffic safety corridors, build service roads, etc.; urgently organize the completion of repairs and complete additions to the signal information system at 184 manned level crossings.

Strictly handle railway traffic accidents

The Prime Minister requested the Minister of Public Security to direct the Public Security of units and localities to develop and implement a specialized plan on ensuring order and safety of railway traffic; strengthen inspection of road vehicle drivers participating in traffic at level crossings and self-opened paths; inspect compliance with safety regulations for railway vehicles, standards, conditions and compliance with working procedures of railway staff positions directly serving train operations... to promptly detect and strictly handle violations according to regulations.

The Investigation Police Agency strictly handles railway traffic accidents in accordance with the provisions of law. During the investigation, in addition to determining the direct cause of the traffic accident, it is necessary to identify and clarify the causes related to the responsibilities of collectives and individuals in state management and public service performance to serve the work of preventing and handling traffic accidents accurately, objectively, and in accordance with the provisions of law; promptly detect and propose to overcome the shortcomings and inadequacies in railway infrastructure, railway vehicles, railway staff, management, exploitation, and operation of railway traffic, etc.

Strictly implement regulations on conditions for railway transport business

The Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Railway Corporation proactively coordinates with local authorities and functional units to review key locations on railway lines, bridges, railway tunnels, and level crossings, detect potential points for railway traffic accidents, and shortcomings in traffic organization at level crossings and self-opened walkways.

Strictly implement regulations on conditions for railway transport business and railway infrastructure business. Strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of railway traffic safety procedures and regulations by railway staff directly serving train operations; regularly inspect the safety of railway vehicles and the operation of safety equipment on the level crossing system; research and apply science and technology in the management and operation of trains, automatic warnings at level crossings and self-opened paths; coordinate with local authorities to protect railway traffic safety corridors, complete the handling of self-opened paths across railways under the responsibility of railway infrastructure business enterprises and the provisions of law.

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism directs news agencies, newspapers and grassroots information systems to regularly and widely disseminate railway laws to the people; warn about the risks and consequences of traffic accidents at self-opened crossings and level crossings, the consequences and harms of throwing soil and rocks at trains; directs organizations providing navigation information services to integrate the locations of level crossings and railway intersections into the database to warn users before passing through railway intersections.

Thoroughly handle black spots and potential railway traffic accident spots

The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city (with railways passing through) shall direct the affiliated agencies and units to strengthen state management, develop detailed and specific plans, prioritize investment funds to thoroughly handle black spots, potential railway traffic accident spots, and self-opened paths; resolutely reclaim the land area with land use right certificates granted to organizations and individuals within the railway traffic safety corridor at black spots and potential traffic accident spots according to the law; regularly urge, guide and inspect the People's Committees at the commune level and affiliated sectors in handling and clearing illegal constructions that encroach on and illegally use the railway traffic safety corridor and railway traffic infrastructure.

Provinces and cities direct departments, branches, sectors, and organizations to coordinate with information agencies, press, and media to propagate, disseminate, and educate about laws on railway traffic order and safety for school-age children and parents; organize the signing of commitments by households living along railways with local authorities on ensuring road and railway traffic safety; replicate the models "I love my hometown's railway", "The road that grandparents and grandchildren take care of together"..., creating a habit of complying with the provisions of the law on railway traffic...