Station chief dismissed for allowing two trains to nearly collide

The stationmaster responsible for the near-collision of two trains in Binh Thuan was fired and the station master was removed from his position.

On the morning of July 26, Mr. Ha Trong Thang - Director of Saigon Railway Exploitation Branch - said that the unit had decided to fire Mr. Ngo Viet Trung (train operator at Suoi Van station, Binh Thuan) and remove him from the position of station chief.

"The dismissal of the Suoi Van station chief is within the authority of the branch so there should be an official written decision. As for the dismissal of the on-duty staff, we have proposed to send it to the Vietnam Railway Corporation," Mr. Thang said, adding that other individuals involved were also reprimanded.

The incident of two trains entering the station on the same track is considered a rare occurrence in the Vietnamese railway industry.

This move was made after the incident where trains SE1 and SQN2 carrying hundreds of passengers nearly collided at Suoi Van station on July 14.

According to Vietnam Railway Corporation, at that time the train operator on duty welcomed train SQN2 onto track 2, but the gatekeeper still turned on the signal to allow train SE1 to return to the station on the same track.

The SE1 train driver discovered the mistake and promptly stopped the train about 80 meters away from the SQN2 train and reported the emergency to Suoi Van station. The SE1 train was then directed to track 3 to allow the SQN2 train to run. Fortunately, the incident did not cause any damage to people or property.

Vietnam Railways Corporation said the reason was that the station train operator did not inform the switchmen about the train avoidance plan and fell asleep, not going to the station to receive the train. When the alarm went off, the operator woke up and quickly ran out to turn on the signal by reflex.

The incident of two trains entering the station on the same track is considered a rare occurrence in the Vietnamese railway industry./.

According to VNE