Law on Railway 2025, No. 95/2025/QH15

Railway Law^[1]

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly promulgates the Railway Law.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law provides railway activities; rights, obligations and responsibilities of organizations and individuals involved in railway activities.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Law applies to domestic organizations and individuals; foreign organizations and individuals involved in railway activities in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Railway activities means activities of organizations and individuals in the fields of planning, construction investment, management, maintenance and protection of railway infrastructure; railway transport; railway industry; railway traffic safety; railway business, and other related activities.

2. Train operation means activities to operate the movement of means of railway transport (rolling stock).

3. Railway work means a work constructed in service of railway transport. These works include railways, bridges, culverts, tunnels, embankments, retaining walls, stations, depots, communication systems, signaling systems, fixed signaling systems, railway traction power supply systems, and other railway works and support facilities.

4. Technical infrastructure facilities connected to railway works include the systems for power supply from the power grid to railway works; water supply and drainage systems for railway works; roads to railway stations; parking lots for private vehicles; and road-railway intermodal transfer points.

5. Railway industrial work means a structure constructed to serve the manufacturing, assembly, repair and transformation of rolling stock; manufacturing of railway accessories, spare parts, supplies and specialized equipment.

6. Transit-oriented development (TOD) means an approach to urban renovation, embellishment and development planning and investment that takes railway transport connection nodes as residential, commercial- service and office hubs.

7. TOD-model local railway project means an investment project formulated for the whole or part of a local railway line, combined with urban development investment in a TOD area.    

8. Railway project means a national or local railway investment project or a TOD-model local railway project.

9. Level crossing means a road section crossing a railway at the same level, which is constructed and operated under the permission of a competent agency.

10. Railway station means a place where rolling stock stops, gives way and overtakes, passengers embark and disembark, and cargo is loaded onto and unloaded from rolling stock, technical operations are performed, and other services are provided.

11. Railway transport safety corridor means strips of land along both sides of a railway measured from the outer edges of the land area within the railway protection areas.

12. Railway infrastructure includes railway works, railway work protection areas and railway transport safety corridors.

13. Platform (for boarding and alighting from trains) means a structure in a railway station that allows passengers to board and alight from trains and facilitates cargo loading and unloading.

14. Railway gauge means the shortest distance between the inner faces of the two rails.

15. Station-to-station section means a railway section connecting two successive railway stations, which starts from the entry sign post of one station to the nearest entry sign post of the other station.

16. Depot-to-depot section means a combination of a number of successive station-to-station sections and railway stations suitable for train operations.

17. Railway business includes commercial operation of railway infrastructure and railway transport business.

18. Unauthorized passage means a road-railway intersection constructed and operated by an organization or individual without permission of a competent agency.

19. Railway work protection area means the defined limit encompassing the surrounding airspace, land, and water areas adjacent to the railway work.

20. Rolling stock refers to locomotives, carriages, wagons and specialized vehicles running on railways.

21. TOD area master plan means a master plan exclusively developed according to the public transit priority orientation for an area encompassing a station and its vicinity.

22. Train means a train formed by a locomotive and carriages or wagons, a single locomotive, or a specialized self-propelled vehicle that moves on railway tracks.

Article 4. Fundamental principles in railway activities

1. To ensure smooth, orderly, safe, punctual and efficient transport activities; to meet the demand for cargo and passenger transportation; to ensure socio-economic development; national defense and security assurance and environmental protection.

2. To develop railways under master plans and plans in association with other modes of transport and international transport connection, ensuring civilization, modernity and synchrony.

3. To administer railway transport activities in a unified and centralized manner.

4. To separate the state management function of state agencies from business activities of enterprises, and separate railway infrastructure business from transport business on State-invested national railways.

5. To ensure healthy and fair competition among domestic and foreign organizations and individuals of all economic sectors engaged in railway business.

6. To ensure that international cooperation in railway activities aligns with Vietnam’s foreign policies; to adhere to the principles of peace, cooperation and friendship for mutual development based on respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality and mutual benefit; to best guarantee national interests and ensure compliance with Vietnam’s law and relevant treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

Article 5. The State’s preferential and support policies for railway development

1. To prioritize the allocation of budget funds for investment in the development, upgrading, maintenance and protection of national and local railway infrastructure facilities; to develop the railway industry and train human resources to ensure that railway transport plays a key role in the national transport system, serving the performance of socio-economic development tasks in association with the assurance of national defense and security.

2. To mobilize local resources for compensation and provision of resettlement support and investment in the construction of a number of national railway infrastructure facilities within localities having railway projects.

3. To reserve land areas for the development of railway infrastructure and railway industrial works in the course of land use planning.

4. To commercially operate railway infrastructure serving railway transport activities; to conduct railway transport business; to prioritize investment in the railway industry and railway human resource training.

5. To allow organizations engaged in the commercial operation of railway infrastructure to use the radio frequency band exclusively reserved for the administration of railway transport and the railway traction power supply system for train operation.

6. Organizations and individuals engaged in railway business activities are entitled to the following incentives and support: 

a/ Land use levy and land rental exemption or reduction for land areas reserved for railways in accordance with the land law;

b/ The State’s investment credit loans as specified by the law on the State’s investment credit or the Government’s guarantees for loans as specified by the law on management of public debts when making investment in the development of national and local railway infrastructure, procuring rolling stock, machinery and equipment to serve the maintenance of railway infrastructure, or developing the railway industry;

c/ The State’s support in the form of state budget allocations and concessional loans, for organizations engaged in railway business activities in localities with difficult socio-economic conditions; and price subsidies for mass transit by urban railways;

d/ Priorities for purchase and use of domestic goods and services or obligatory purchase and use of goods and services from domestic manufacturers and service providers, except railway construction investment projects and projects on procurement or building of railway locomotives and carriages.

7. Enterprises engaged in railway industry investment and development or in the commercial operation of railway infrastructure are entitled to preferential enterprise income tax rates.

8. To encourage, support, create favorable conditions for, and protect lawful rights and interests of, domestic and foreign organizations and individuals that invest in and commercially operate railway infrastructure and conduct railway transport business; to connect railway transport with other transport modes; to develop the railway industry, research and apply science and technology, and engage in technology transfer, digital transformation and human resource training and development.

Article 6. Prohibited acts in railway activities

1. Sabotaging railway works and rolling stock; disrupting railway traffic order and safety.

2. Encroaching upon or appropriating railway traffic safety corridors and railway work protection areas; opening unauthorized passages.

3. Tampering with or obscuring railway signaling systems or traffic signs.

4. Giving signals or using devices to stop a train without permission, except cases of detecting an incident that threatens railway traffic safety.

5. Putting obstacles, inflammable or explosive or hazardous substances within railway work protection areas or railway traffic safety corridors.

6. Operating trains beyond the specified speed limit.

7. Railway personnel, while on duty, have a concentration of alcohol in their blood or breath; or have a content of a drug or another law-prohibited stimulant in their bodies.

Article 7. Classification of railways and railway technical grades

1. The railway system of Vietnam consists of:

a/ National railways, which serve general transport needs nationwide and international transportation;

b/ Local railways, which serve transport needs of localities and economic zones; and urban railways, a type of local railway, which serve the passenger transport needs in urban and suburban areas;

c/ Specialized railways, which serve exclusive transport needs of organizations and individuals.

2. Railway technical grades shall be determined according to national standards; the formulation, appraisal and announcement of standards on railway technical grades must comply with the law on standards and technical regulations. Railway technical grades include:

a/ High-speed railways, with a design speed of 200 km/h or higher;

b/ Railways of grades I, II, III and IV, with a design speed of under 200 km/h.

Article 8. Railway gauges

1. Railway gauges include the standard gauge of 1,435 mm and the narrow gauge of 1,000 mm.

2. Newly constructed national railways and local railways must have the standard gauge, except railways to be connected to narrow-gauge railways.

3. For specialized railways:

a/ The gauge of specialized railways with their tracks connected to national railways shall be decided by the Minister of Construction;

b/ The gauge of specialized railways with their tracks not connected to national railways shall be decided by project owners.

Article 9. General requirements on railway infrastructure

1. Railway infrastructure facilities must ensure their utility, and shall be operated for maximum efficiency and in conformity with the traffic network master plan.

2. The construction of new railway infrastructure and renovation and upgrading of the existing railway infrastructure shall be carried out in a stable, sustainable and synchronous manner and must satisfy technical requirements and law-specified requirements on safety, environmental protection, fire and explosion prevention and fighting and disaster prevention and control, ensuring the performance of national defense and security tasks.

Article 10. Railway traffic rules   

1. Railway traffic rules include regulations on train operation command, train formation, train shunting, train operation, train passing, train overtaking, train stopping, and train reversing.

2. Depending on requirements of each type of national railway, local railway or specialized railway, railway traffic rules may regulate one or several of the operations specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The Minister of Construction shall detail this Article.

Article 11. Railway traffic signaling system

1. The railway traffic signaling system consists of orders of train operation controllers, train operation control system, on-train signals, ground signals, signal boards, protection flares, and torches. Signals display orders and conditions for train operation, shunting or stopping.

2. The railway traffic signaling system must be adequate, accurate and clear, thus ensuring train operation safety and improving train operation efficiency.

3. Railway personnel and road users shall obey railway traffic signals.

4. The Minister of Construction shall detail this Article.

Article 12. Fixed signaling system on railways

1. The fixed signaling system on railways consists of signal boards, signal marks; sign boards; fences, barriers; boundary markers; and other signals.

2. The fixed signaling system on railways shall be fully constructed and installed in conformity with the technical grades and types of railways, must operate well all the time.

Article 13. Railway traction power supply system

1. The railway traction power supply system consists of transformer stations, power lines, power distribution stations, power supply system for rolling stock; control system; and power protection and safety monitoring system.

2. The railway traction power supply system shall be controlled and monitored in a centralized manner; and shall be assured by the State of a stable and uninterrupted power supply source, thus ensuring uninterrupted train operations. 

Article 14. Railway connection

1. Railway connection means the connection of railways in terms of infrastructure and railway transport administration; railway-road connection at railway stations or connection between railways and airports, seaports, inland container depots, and inland waterway ports.

2. The construction of railways must ensure synchronous and efficient connection of railways with other modes of transport.

3. Airports with an annual throughput of 30 million passengers or more, seaports of grade I or higher, and inland container depots with a capacity of 50,000 TEU/year in provinces and cities where national railway sections or local railways run through shall be planned to be connected to railways in order to meet the transport, socio-economic development, national defense and security, and environmental protection needs.

4. Upon the formulation and adjustment of master plans and investment in the construction of airports, seaports and inland container depots referred to in Clause 3 of this Article, land areas shall be reserved for building railway connection works. Airport, seaport and inland container depot project owners shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate in building complete railway connection works as planned for the implementation of approved master plans.

5. Track connection between railways:

a/ Track connection positions of domestic railways are at railway stations;

b/ Only national railways may have track connections with foreign railways;

c/ Owners of specialized railways may decide on track connection of specialized railways with their own specialized railways.

6. The Minister of Construction shall decide on track connections between national railways and foreign railways; and prescribe conditions, the order and procedures for connecting tracks of domestic railways, except the case specified at Point c, Clause 5 of this Article.

Article 15. Railway lines, railway stations

1. Railwal line means one section or many consecutive sections from the first railway station to the last railway station. Railway lines must conform to railway master plans specified in Article 19 of this Law, and ensure technical safety and efficient connection with other transport modes. The naming, putting into operation, termination of operation, and dismantlement of railway lines shall be decided by competent persons.

2. Classification of railway stations:

a/ Railway stations classified by function include passenger stations, cargo stations, technical stations, and mixed-use stations;

b/ Railway stations classified by nature of transport connection include international transport stations, border stations, hub stations, and urban stations.

3. Technical grades of railway stations:

a/ Railway stations are divided into different technical grades, including station buildings, station squares, warehouses, cargo yards, platforms, walling fences, service areas for passenger embarkation and disembarkation, waiting rooms, ticket counters, food catering service areas, public sanitation facilities, necessary equipment and devices, and other works related to railway operation;

b/ The Minister of Construction shall detail this Clause.

4. Provinces and cities where national railway sections run through shall arrange passenger stations in their central areas or at convenient locations for access and connection to other modes of transport.

5. At border railway stations, international transport stations, and national railway stations located in central areas of provinces and cities, working offices shall be arranged for routine activities of related state management agencies.

6. Border stations and international transport stations must have working and accommodation places for railway staff of neighboring countries on duty; and arrange areas for installing necessary technical equipment and devices for carrying out exit and entry procedures, medical quarantine, and goods import and export.

7. At railway stations, passenger pick-up and drop-off points shall be arranged for buses and automotive means of transport; and facilities for the provision of commercial services, offices, and public telecommunications service counters may be constructed.

8. The Government shall prescribe the naming, putting into operation, termination of operation, and dismantlement of railway lines and stations.

Article 16. Railway-railway and railway-road intersections

1. Railway-railway intersections must be grade-separated crossing, except intersections between specialized railways.

2. In the cases specified by the Minister of Construction, railway-road intersections shall be constructed as grade-separated crossing ones.

3. Project owners building new railways shall build grade-separated intersections under Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. Project owners building new roads shall build grade-separated intersections under Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Upon the renovation or upgrading of existing road sections crossing national railways in the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article, grade-separated intersections shall be constructed. In case there are insufficient resources for ground clearance and investment in the building of grade-separated intersections, level-crossing intersections may be constructed.

5. The building, renovation and upgrading of road sections crossing railways must obtain permission or an extension of permission of competent agencies under Clause 8 of this Article.

6. For railway-railway level-crossing intersections that have been in existence before the effective date of this Law, if it is impossible to comply with Clause 2 of this Article, enterprises that are commercially operating railway infrastructure shall take measures to ensure train operation safety at these intersections.

7. The Minister of Construction shall prescribe:

a/ Road sections crossing railways and traffic at these road sections; the grant and extension of permits for building, renovation, upgrading and closure of road sections crossing railways;

b/ Combined railway-road bridges; traffic on these bridges and in tunnels;

c/ Connection of road traffic signals with road signals at road sections crossing railways, provision of warning information at road-railway level-crossing intersections.

8.  Competence to grant and extend permits for building, renovation, upgrading and closure of road sections crossing railways:

a/ The Minister of Construction has the competence over road sections crossing national railways under his/her management;

b/ Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees have the competence over road sections crossing national railways and local railways under their management or constructed and managed by enterprises, and road sections crossing specialized railways.

9. The Government shall prescribe the roadmap and responsibility for handling railway-railway intersections and railway-road intersections that fail to conform with the provisions of this Article.

Article 17. Railways running closely parallel to roads

1. In case a railway and a road run parallel and close to one another, the railway work protection area must lie outside the land area reserved for road protection and maintenance.

2. If the arrangement specified in Clause 1 of this Article is not feasible, a protective work shall be constructed on the side of the road adjacent to the railway.

3. In case a railway runs above and parallel to a road, the vertical distance from the highest point of the road surface below to the lowest point of the railway structure above must comply with road traffic safety clearance requirements.

4. In case a road runs above and parallel to a railway, the distance from the highest point of the rail to the lowest point of the road structure must comply with the railway structural clearance gauge.

Article 18. State management of railway activities

1. Contents of the state management of railway activities

a/ Formulating, promulgating, and organizing the implementation of, railway-specialized legal documents, standards, technical standards, and technical-economic norms; carrying out public communication, dissemination and education about the railway law, and providing knowledge about railway activities;

b/ Formulating, and organizing the implementation of, railway network master plans, railway line and station master plans and other relevant master plans; formulating, and organizing the implementation of, railway development plans and policies;

c/ Guiding, examining and evaluating the management of quality of construction works and the management and maintenance of railway infrastructure;

d/ Guiding and examining railway transport activities, railway transport and rolling stock administration activities;

dd/ Examining the assurance of security and safety for railway activities;

e/ Undertaking international cooperation on railway activities;

g/ Managing prices, charges and fees in railway activities;

h/ Inspecting, examining and settling complaints and denunciations, and handling violations of law in railway activities.

2. Responsibilities of state management agencies for railway activities:

a/ The Government shall perform the unified state management of railway activities.

b/ The Ministry of Construction shall act as the focal body assisting the Government in performing the state management of railway activities.

c/ Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with one another in, performing the state management of railway activities.

d/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, organize the state management of railway activities in their localities.

Chapter II

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT

Section 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS ON RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT

Article 19. Railway master plans

1. Railway network master plans:

a/ A railway network master plan is a national sectoral master plan serving as a basis for directing investment in, and development and operation of, the national railway network;

b/ The Minister of Construction shall organize the formulation, appraisal and approval of railway network master plans.

2. Railway line and station master plans:

a/ A railway line and station master plan is a specialized and technical master plan that concretizes the national overall master plan and railway network master plan, and shall be formulated for national railway lines and stations in urban areas, national railway hub stations, international transport stations and border stations, and must conform with national, regional and provincial master plans;

b/ The Minister of Construction shall organize the formulation, appraisal and approval of railway line and station master plans;

c/ Railway line and station master plans shall be publicized in accordance with the planning law and the railway law;

d/ The Government shall prescribe in detail the formulation, appraisal, approval, announcement, organization of implementation, evaluation and adjustment of railway line and station master plans.

3. Plans on development of local railways and specialized railways constitute contents of regional master plans, provincial master plans, and urban and rural master plans.

Article 20. Railway work construction investment

1. National railways shall be constructed with investment funds of the Ministry of Construction.

2. Local railways shall be constructed with investment funds of provincial-level People’s Committees and enterprises.

3. Specialized railways shall be constructed with investment funds of organizations and enterprises.

4. Agencies, organizations and enterprises specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article may invest in the construction, renovation and upgrading of technical infrastructure facilities connected to railway works after reaching agreement with organizations and individuals managing such facilities.

5. For investment in the construction of works for shared use by national railways and local railways or by railways and roads, work management units shall reach agreement to propose the investment policy to competent authorities for decision before assigning agencies as project owners.

Article 21. Investment in construction of technical infrastructure facilities for shared use by railways

1. Technical infrastructure facilities for shared use by railways are those constructed for the laying or installation of information cables, telecommunications works, power transmission lines, power wires, public lighting systems, water supply or water drainage pipelines, and energy supply conduits.

2. The construction of technical infrastructure facilities for shared use by railways must satisfy the following requirements:

a/ Conforming with master plans and being suitable to project scale and the technical grades of railways;

b/ Conforming with construction standards and technical regulations; regulations on fire prevention and fighting, and rescue and salvage; ensuring safety for works; preserving landscapes and protecting the environment;

c/ Complying with this Law, the law on construction and other relevant regulations.

3. Organizations and individuals constructing technical infrastructure facilities for shared use by railways shall obtain permits from competent agencies under Clause 5, Article 44 of this Law.

4. Organizations assigned to manage and use railway infrastructure assets shall exploit and lease shared-use technical infrastructure facilities in accordance with law.

Section 2

INVESTMENT IN CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IMPORTANT RAILWAY PROJECTS AND RAILWAY PROJECTS FOR WHICH INVESTMENT POLICY IS DECIDED BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Article 22. Adjustment of master plans

In case the formulation, appraisal, approval and adjustment of railway projects and resettlement projects for ground clearance for railway projects have been carried out based on railway network master plans or provincial master plans but there are changes compared to other relevant master plans, the approved projects are not required to undergo procedures for adjusting such master plans; while relevant master plans shall be promptly updated correspondingly and announced in accordance with regulations.

Article 23. Division of railway projects

1. An authority competent to decide on investment in a railway project may decide to divide the project into component projects, independent component projects or mini-projects, including a project on compensation and support for resettlement in the course of formulation of the construction investment project. Component projects shall be managed as independent projects.

2. The division of projects into component projects is not required to meet the requirements on independent operation as specified by the law on construction.

Article 24. Investment in railway projects with non-state funding sources

1. Railway projects that are invested in accordance with the law on investment or the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership may have all expenses for compensation and support for resettlement for land areas reserved for railways covered by the state budget. The compensation and support for resettlement shall be carried out under independent public investment projects.

2. For railway projects implemented in the form of public-private partnership, expenses for compensation and support for resettlement shall not be accounted as state capital contributions to the projects.

3. For a railway project implemented in accordance with the law on investment:

a/ In case only one investor proposes the project, the competent authority shall approve the project’s investment policy concurrently with the investor in accordance with the law on investment;

b/ The project owner may not transfer the project or the project enterprise, capital and assets formed during and after the investment process to any foreign organization or individual or to any foreign-invested organization;

c/ Upon the expiration of the project operation term, the project owner shall transfer without compensation to the State all assets formed under the project;

d/ For national railways, the Ministry of Construction shall assign an attached specialized agency to perform the function of a specialized agency in charge of construction in accordance with the Law on Construction; for local railways, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall assign an attached specialized agency to perform the function of a specialized agency in charge of construction in accordance with the Law on Construction;

dd/ For national railways, the Minister of Construction shall approve the list of standards applicable to the project before the investment decider approves the project; for local railways, the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall approve the list of standards applicable to the project before the investment decider approves the project;

e/ The provincial-level People’s Committee may decide to appoint the project owner of a national railway selected by a competent agency in accordance with law to invest in TOD-model urban development project(s) under the railway project.

4. For a railway project implemented in accordance with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership, after it is approved:

a/ The person competent to approve the project may select the investor(s)  in the form of restricted bidding or contractor appointment, or another appropriate form as specified by law;

b/ The appointed investor(s) must be fully capable and shall prove its/their ability to acquire equity, mobilize loans and other lawful funding sources; or prove adequate experience, or enter into a cooperation agreement with experienced partner(s) in implementing similar projects;

c/ Before deciding on the form of investor selection, the competent agency shall obtain written consent from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security regarding requirements for national defense, security maintenance and protection of state secrets.

Article 25. TOD-model urban development for railways

1. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall organize the formulation, appraisal and approval of master plans on TOD areas for national and local railways, tentative plans on work lines and locations and total ground area of the lines for local railways. They may:

a/ Decide to adjust techno-economic targets and utilities of land plots and use indicators of land areas planned for construction within TOD areas that are different from construction planning technical regulations, while ensuring that they do not exceed the carrying capacity of technical and social infrastructure systems within TOD areas and surrounding zones;

b/ Decide on boundaries of TOD areas and implementation contents, the order and procedures that are different from approved urban and rural master plans, land use master plans and plans, without having to carry out procedures for adjusting such land use plans and relevant master plans. After approving TOD area master plans, land use plans and other relevant master plans shall be promptly updated and announced;

c/ In case a centrally run city’s general master plan has not yet been approved by a competent authority, the municipal People’s Committee shall base itself on the approved provincial master plan to organize the formulation, appraisal and approval of the plan on work lines and locations, total line ground area, and the TOD area master plan.

2. Provincial-level People’s Councils may decide to use local budgets to implement independent public investment projects for which compensation, support and resettlement work has been carried out under TOD area master plans in order to generate land areas for auction in accordance with law.

3. Proceeds from the exploitation of TOD land areas:

a/ For national railways, after deducting expenses for compensation, support and resettlement work in TOD areas and other related expenses in accordance with law, provincial-level local administrations may retain 50% of such proceeds for local budgets and remit the remainder to the central budget;

b/ For local railways, provincial-level local administrations may retain 100% of such proceeds for local budgets.

4. Provincial-level People’s Councils shall detail Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 26. Order and procedures for investment in local railway projects and TOD-model local railway projects

When carrying out the order and procedures for investment in local railway projects and TOD-model local railway projects, provincial-level People’s Committees may:

1. Organize the formulation and appraisal of investment projects, and decide on project investment or project adjustment according to the order and procedures applicable to group-A projects under local management in accordance with relevant regulations;

2. Decide to extend the project implementation period, provided that the extension does not increase the total investment and does not require project adjustment procedures to be carried out;

3. Decide on the selection of standards applicable to local railways after reaching consensus with the Ministry of Construction.

Article 27. Front-end engineering designs

1. Railway projects are eligible for the formulation of front-end engineering designs (FEED) in replacement of basic designs in their feasibility study reports. The selection of contractors under EPC, EC or EP contracts shall be based on approved investment projects; and project owners may decide on the approval of designing steps following FEED.

2. Project owners, organizations and agencies assigned to prepare feasibility study reports to solicit advice from contractors and domestic and foreign organizations on technologies, reference prices and latent risks. The solicitation of advice shall be carried out in a transparent manner and must not provide any unfair advantage to any supplier.

3. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 28. Contests of architectural plans

Investment deciders may decide whether to organize contests of architectural plans for station buildings, intersections, bridges and related work items under railway projects, but shall ensure satisfaction of historical, cultural and aesthetic requirements of such works.

Article 29. Activities that must be carried out before investment in railway projects is decided

1. Activities that must be carried out before a decision on investment in a railway project is made include:

a/ Training of human resources of the state agency, project owner, project management unit, project operation units, training institutions, and research institutions;

b/ Provision of consulting services;

c/ Formulation of a master plan relevant to plans on work lines, work locations and total ground area of the local railway, and the TOD area master plan;

d/ Compensation, support and resettlement;

dd/ Public communication and other jobs serving the project investment preparation.

2. For public investment projects on construction of national railways, after their investment policy is approved by competent authorities, they may be additionally listed under medium-term public investment plans and allocated funding under annual public investment plans to pay for the activities specified at Points a, b, d and dd, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. For local railway projects and TOD-model local railway projects eligible for public investment, provincial-level People’s Committees may decide to allocate funding from local budgets under medium-term and annual public investment plans to  cover the expenses for the activities specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 30. Simultaneous performance of a number of jobs in preparation for railway projects

1. Project owners or heads of units assigned to prepare railway projects may simultaneously organize the formulation, appraisal and approval of feasibility study reports and construction designs to be implemented after basic designs or FEEDs, bidding dossiers, and dossiers of requirements.

2. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees may decide to simultaneously organize the formulation, appraisal and approval of feasibility study reports and construction designs to be implemented after basic designs of projects on compensation, support, resettlement and relocation of technical infrastructure facilities serving railway projects.

Article 31. Contractor selection 

1. Persons competent to decide on investment in railway projects may apply either of the forms of limited bidding and contractor appointment as specified by the bidding law to select investors; goods, consulting service and non-consulting service suppliers; construction contractors; and EPC, EC, EP or turn-key contractors; the implementation order and procedures as specified by the bidding law and other relevant laws and in compliance with treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

2. Railway project owners may decide to use foreign contractors for consulting activities and jobs performed in advance for their projects.

3. Project owners are not required to apply regulations on assurance of competition in selecting contractors providing consulting on the preparation of feasibility study reports, FEEDs and technical designs in case of appointment of contractors for construction, EPC, EC, EP or turn-key bidding packages, while ensuring compliance with other provisions of the bidding law.

Article 32. Estimation of total investment, construction costs, bidding package costs, and work operation and maintenance expenses

1. For jobs included in but unconformable to, or not yet included in, systems of norms, work construction prices, investment rates, expense levels, and expense data promulgated by competent authorities, it is permitted to apply systems of norms, work construction prices, investment rates and expense levels announced by domestic and foreign organizations for similar jobs or similar domestic and foreign railway projects, converted to the time of calculation.

2. In case expenses cannot be determined under Clause 1 of this Article, they may be calculated based on investment rates of similar projects worldwide, converted to the time of calculation.

3. In case systems of operation and maintenance norms and unit prices promulgated by competent authorities do not include or remain inappropriate to railway works and projects, systems of operation and maintenance norms and unit prices issued by domestic and foreign organizations or used for similar domestic and foreign railway projects may be applied, converted to the time of calculation.

4. Expenses for trial operation, training and receipt of transferred technologies shall be accounted into the total railway work construction investment.

5. In case a railway project has expense items not yet specified by Vietnam’s laws or include inappropriate expense items, estimation of total investment, construction costs, bidding package costs, and work operation and maintenance expenses may apply expense items of railway projects with similar implementation characteristics and conditions worldwide.

Article 33. Construction contracts 

Project owners may decide on and take responsibility for selecting and applying a number of provisions of the FIDIC (Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs - Conseils) Model Contract Conditions when preparing bidding contracts and dossiers of requirements, and when establishing and implementing construction contracts, including:

1. Applying the engineer’s right to give instructions in accordance with FIDIC contract principles;

2. Applying the mechanism for complaint settlement and dispute resolution in accordance with FIDIC contract principles;

3. Empowering the chief supervision engineer to decide on a number of matters falling under the project owner’s responsibility as specified in the Particular Conditions of Contract in order to accelerate project implementation progress and ensure the quality and use efficiency of the project’s funds for work items and jobs requiring high or new techniques. 

Article 34. Compensation, support and resettlement upon land recovery by the State

1. For railway projects for which investment policy has been decided by competent authorities, provincial-level People’s Committees of localities through which projects pass may formulate, appraise and decide on investment in component projects and independent component projects on compensation, support and resettlement based on preliminary design dossiers in prefeasibility study reports. Projects on compensation, support and resettlement are not subject to investment policy decision. Temporary resettlement shall be arranged for people whose land is recovered, ensuring the stability of their livelihoods.

2. Competent agencies may decide on contractor appointment for consulting/non-consulting and construction bidding packages for compensation, support and resettlement work. The order and procedures for contractor appointment must comply with the bidding law.

3. For local railway projects and TOD-model local railway projects:

a/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall decide to separate compensation, support and resettlement contents into component projects and independent component projects based on plans on work lines, work locations, total ground areas of local railways or TOD area master plans approved by competent agencies;

b/ Projects on compensation, support and resettlement are not subject to investment policy decision. The formulation, appraisal and decision on investment for these projects must comply with the law on public investment.

Article 35. Prevention and combat of corruption, waste and negative practices

1. For the selection of investors and contractors to implement EPC, EC, EP or consulting bidding packages, the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science and Technology, the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam, and the State Audit Office of Vietnam shall appoint their representatives to participate in appraisal teams for bidding dossiers, dossiers of requirements, and contractor selection results; appraisal team members who are representatives of the above-mentioned agencies are not subject to conditions, capacity and experience requirements specified by the bidding law.

2. The State Audit Office of Vietnam shall audit finalized total investment dossiers based on appraisal reports of investment deciders for use as grounds for project approval, and send audit results to investment deciders within 30 days after receiving complete audit request dossiers.

Section 3

RAILWAY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT

Article 36. Railway industry   

1. The railway industry covers:

a/ Manufacturing, assembly, repair and transformation of rolling stock;

b/ Manufacturing of railway spare parts and equipment for railway information and signaling systems and railway traction power supply systems;

c/ Manufacturing of machinery; manufacturing of rails, switches/turnouts, connection accessories, spare parts, supplies, and equipment subject to special technical requirements of the railway sector.

2. Products and goods of the railway industry include rolling stock, information and signaling systems, railway traction power supply systems, rails, switches/turnouts, connection accessories, spare parts, supplies, and equipment subject to special technical requirements of the railway sector on the List of high technologies prioritized for development investment under the Prime Minister’s decisions.

Article 37. Requirements for development of the railway industry

1. To conform with the railway network master plan, the specialized or technical railway master plan, and Vietnam’s industrial development strategy in each period.

2. To be aligned with the development of railway infrastructure, railway transport services, safety assurance, and environmental protection as specified by law.

3. For bidding packages of railway projects eligible for organization of international bidding, general contractors and contractors shall commit to transferring technologies and training human resources for Vietnamese partners so they can master management, operation and maintenance work.

4. Investment in, and import of, technological lines for manufacturing and assembling railway machinery and rolling stock shall be carried out synchronously and ensure state-of-the-art and modern technologies; partial or full technology transfer shall be carried out in accordance with the law on technology transfer.

Article 38. Investment in development of the railway industry

1. The State shall provide support for investment in the construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure connecting national railways and local railways and establishments manufacturing, assembling, repairing and transforming rolling stock.

2. The Prime Minister shall decide to promulgate the list of railway-industry services and goods for which Vietnamese organizations and enterprises may be assigned tasks or receive orders to provide them.

3. The Government shall prescribe the assignment of tasks and placement of orders, and criteria for selecting Vietnamese organizations and enterprises to be assigned tasks or to receive orders for the provision of railway-industry services and goods; and the research and application of technologies and receipt of transferred technologies.

4. Project owners and contractors shall prioritize the use of railway-industry services and goods specified in Clause 2 of this Article, and products, goods and services that can be domestically manufactured or provided.

5. Regarding investment in railway industry complex construction projects

a/ A railway industry complex is a system of connected and cooperative railway-related industrial establishments engaged in researching, developing, designing, testing, manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, operating and supplying specialized industrial products serving railway activities.

b/ Railway industry complex construction projects may apply the provisions of Article 22; Clause 1, Article 31, and Article 32 of this Law.

Article 39. Research and application of science and technology, technology transfer, and training of human resources for development of the railway industry

1. Research and application of science and technology, and technology transfer must ensure advanced and modern technologies, promote the application of digital technology and artificial intelligence, and conform to railway network master plans, the law on railway, the law on science, technology and innovation, the law on technology transfer, and other relevant regulations.

2. Enterprises investing in, researching and applying science and technology, transferring technology, and developing the railway industry may set aside up to 20% of their corporate income tax-liable income as a fund for science and technology development. The use of this fund must comply with the law on science, technology and innovation, the law on corporate income tax, and other relevant regulations.

3. Organizations and individuals participating in scientific and technological activities to serve the development of the railway industry are entitled to the following policies:

a/ Organizations and individuals assuming the prime responsibility for scientific and technological activities to serve projects may decide on limited bidding, contractor appointment, order placement or task assignment for selecting service providers and goods suppliers;

b/ Exemption from corporate income tax or exemption from personal income tax for income generated from the performance of scientific and technological tasks serving projects;

c/ Incentives offered for hi-tech enterprises by the law on high technology during the performance of scientific and technological tasks;

d/ State budget support for the procurement and operation of machinery and equipment for task performance in accordance with the law on science and technology.   

4. Organizations and individuals participating in the training and development of human resources for the railway industry are entitled to policies specified by the law on high technology.

Chapter III

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT AND EXPLOITATION

Section 1

RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

Article 40. Railway infrastructure assets

1. Railway infrastructure assets include national railway, local railway and specialized railway infrastructure assets.

2. Responsibility for managing State-invested railway infrastructure assets:

a/ The Government shall act as the owner’s representative, performing the unified management of national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with the law on management and use of public assets;

b/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall act as the owner’s representatives, performing the unified management of local railway infrastructure assets in accordance with the law on management and use of public assets.

3. Responsibility for managing railway infrastructure assets in which enterprises have invested: Enterprises shall themselves manage, use, exploit, maintain and protect railway infrastructure assets in accordance with law.

4. Organizations that are assigned to manage, are leased or transferred for a definite time State-invested railway infrastructure assets shall manage, use, exploit, maintain and protect such assets in accordance with law.

Article 41. Management and maintenance of railway infrastructure

1. Railway infrastructure put into exploitation shall be managed and maintained.

2. Responsibility for organizing the management and maintenance of railway infrastructure:

a/ The agencies acting as the asset owner’s representatives specified in Clause 2, Article 40 of this Law shall organize the management and maintenance of State-invested national railway and local railway infrastructure;

b/ Organizations that are assigned to manage, are leased or transferred for a definite time the right to exploit State-invested railway infrastructure assets shall organize the management and maintenance of such railway infrastructure in accordance with law;

c/ Enterprises shall manage and maintain railway infrastructure in which they have invested, in accordance with law.

3. Competence to prescribe the management and maintenance of railway infrastructure:

a/ The Minister of Construction shall prescribe the management and maintenance of national railway infrastructure;

b/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall prescribe the management and maintenance of local railway infrastructure under their local management.

Article 42. Management and maintenance of works for shared use by railways and roads, and technical infrastructure facilities connected to railway works for shared use

1. For works for shared use by national railways and local railways or for shared use by railways and roads, work items shall be separately assigned to organizations for management, operation, exploitation and maintenance. The separation of work items must ensure the safe and efficient operation of such work items.

2. For technical infrastructure facilities connected to railway works, asset-managing organizations shall reach agreement on the scope of, and responsibility for, management, maintenance and exploitation of such works.

3. Organizations and individuals shall manage and maintain technical infrastructure facilities in which they have invested, for shared use by railways in accordance with law.

4. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 43. Funding sources for management, maintenance and protection of railway infrastructure assets

1. Funding sources for management, maintenance and protection of railway infrastructure assets and technical infrastructure facilities connected to railway works, and for preparation of land management dossiers, planting or restoration of landmarks in land areas reserved for railways to be invested by the State, shall be covered by the state budget and other lawful funding sources.

2. The agency acting as the asset owner’s representative specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 40 of this Law shall organize the management of funding sources allocated for the management, maintenance and protection of State-invested national railway infrastructure assets, technical infrastructure facilities connected to State-invested national railway works and national railway work items for shared use by roads under its management.

3. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall allocate funding sources and manage and use the allocated funding sources for the management, maintenance and protection of locally invested railway infrastructure assets or railway infrastructure assets assigned to them for management, technical infrastructure facilities connected to locally invested railway works and railway work items for shared use by roads.

4. Enterprises shall ensure funding sources for management, maintenance and protection of railway infrastructure assets in which they have invested, technical infrastructure facilities connected to railway works, and work items for shared use by railways and roads assigned to them for management.

Article 44. Protection of railway infrastructure

1. Protection of railway infrastructure includes activities to ensure safety for railway works; to prevent, stop and handle acts of infringing upon or sabotaging railway works, encroaching upon or appropriating railway work protection areas and railway transport safety corridors.

2. For railways with a design speed of over 120 km/h and urban railways, protection fences shall be constructed to prevent unauthorized access, except overhead or in-tunnel railway sections.

3. Construction of works within the railway work protection areas and railway transport safety corridors:

a/ Works that are permitted to be constructed within the railway work protection areas or railway transport safety corridors include essential works serving national defense and security, disaster prevention and control or socio-economic activities that cannot be arranged outside the boundaries of land areas reserved for railways; and propaganda works as requested by state agencies.

Upon requests of competent agencies, project owners shall themselves arrange funding sources and dismantle and relocate works constructed within the railway work protection areas or railway transport safety corridors, without receiving compensation for such works;

b/ It is permitted to construct feeder roads within the railway work protection areas or railway transport safety corridors of existing national railways and specialized railways in case it is impossible to arrange them outside the boundaries of land areas reserved for railways, and at the same time fences shall be constructed to separate railways from feeder roads; 

c/ The construction of works within the railway work protection areas and railway transport safety corridors must not affect the safety of the railway works or railway transport.

4. Construction of works, exploitation of resources and conduct of other activities in the vicinity of land areas reserved for railways:

a/ The construction of works, exploitation of resources and conduct of other activities in the vicinity of land areas reserved for railways must not affect the safety of railway works and railway transport;

b/ In case the construction of works, exploitation of resources and conduct of other activities in the vicinity of land areas reserved for railways are likely to affect the safety of railway works or railway transport, construction project owners, organizations and individuals exploiting resources or conducting other activities shall take measures to ensure safety for railway works and railway transport;

c/ Construction project owners, organizations and individuals exploiting resources or conducting other activities shall pay compensation for any damage caused by their activities to railway works and railway transport safety corridors in accordance with law.

5. In case it is necessary to use land areas reserved for railways for the construction of essential works serving national defense, security and socio-economic activities, or technical infrastructure facilities for shared use by railways, there must be measures to ensure safety for railway works and railway transport and construction permits shall be obtained for construction of essential works within land areas reserved for railways in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Construction.

6. The Government shall detail Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.

Article 45. Prevention, control and remediation of consequences of disasters and incidents on railway infrastructure

1. Investment projects on construction of railway works shall be designed and constructed in a sustainable manner, adapted to climate change, and compliant with standards and technical regulations, while satisfying the disaster prevention and control requirements specified by law.

2. Responsibility for prevention, control and remediation of consequences of disasters and incidents on railways currently in operation:

a/ The Ministry of Construction, provincial-level People’s Committees and asset owners shall organize the prevention, control and remediation of consequences of disasters and incidents on railways under their management in accordance with this Law, the law on disaster prevention and control, and other relevant laws;

b/ Organizations that are assigned to manage, are leased or transferred for a definite time the right to exploit State-invested railway infrastructure assets shall prevent, control and remedy consequences of disasters and incidents in accordance with law; promptly repair or remedy damage to railway works in cases they are no longer safe for people and vehicles joining traffic on railway sections and routes; and inspect important works and positions that are likely to affect the safety of railway works or other adjacent works;

c/ Organizations and individuals shall participate in the prevention, control and remediation of consequences of disasters and incidents on railway infrastructure based on the task assignment, power decentralization and close coordination among forces and in conformity with different levels of disaster risks as specified by the law on disaster prevention and control.

3. The Minister of Construction shall detail this Article.

Article 46. Commercial operation of railway infrastructure

1. Commercial operation of railway infrastructure is a conditional business line.

2. Railway transport administration service price means a money amount payable for the use of railway transport administration services for train operation at stations, on railway lines or depot-to-depot sections.

3. Surcharge other than the railway transport administration service price means a money amount additionally payable to railway transport administration service providers.

4. When using State-invested national railway infrastructure assets for railway transport business, railway transport enterprises shall pay a railway infrastructure use charge to the State in accordance with the law on charges and fees.

5. When using State-invested national railway infrastructure assets, organizations and individuals that are assigned, leased or transferred for a definite time the right to exploit such assets shall pay a price for railway infrastructure use to the State in accordance with the law on price.

6. Competence to set prices is specified as follows:

a/ The Ministry of Construction shall set the maximum prices for railway transport administration services on State-invested national railway infrastructure in accordance with the law on price;

b/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall set the maximum prices for railway transport administration services on railway infrastructure in which they have invested or which are assigned to them for management, in accordance with the law on price;

c/ Organizations and individuals may decide on prices for railway transport administration services on railway infrastructure they have invested in.

7. The Minister of Construction shall set prices for railway transport administration services and surcharges other than these prices.        

8. The Government shall prescribe conditions for commercial operation of railway transport infrastructure; and the rights and obligations of enterprises engaged in the commercial operation of railway transport infrastructure.

Section 2

RAILWAY TRANSPORT

Article 47. Rolling stock 

1. To join traffic, rolling stock must satisfy standards and technical regulations, remain within its permitted duration of use, and have been registered and inspected.

2. Rolling stock owners and enterprises engaged in railway transport business shall ensure safety of their rolling stock in the course of operation and use.

3. Competence to grant rolling stock registration certificates:

a/ The Minister of Construction may grant registration certificates for rolling stock running on national railways;

b/ Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees may grant registration certificates for rolling stock running on local railways and specialized railways.

4. The Minister of Construction shall detail this Article.

Article 48. Railway personnel

1. Railway personnel means rolling stock operators and persons directly serving train operations.

2. Rolling stock operators must possess train driver licenses granted under regulations of the Minister of Construction and be physically fit under regulations of the Minister of Health.

3. The Minister of Construction shall grant train driver licenses for national railway train drivers.

4. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall grant train driver licenses for local or specialized railway train drivers.

5. The Minister of Construction shall detail Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 49. Railway transport business

1. Railway transport business is a conditional business line, covering passenger, luggage and cargo transport by railway.

2. Ticket prices of domestic passenger transport on national railways shall be decided by railway transport enterprises on the basis of the maximum prices set by the State. Ticket prices of passenger transport on local railways shall be specifically decided by provincial-level People’s Committees.

3. Surcharges other than ticket prices of domestic passenger, luggage and cargo transport on national railways are money amounts additionally payable to railway transport enterprises; these surcharges shall be decided by railway transport enterprises, which shall take responsibility for their decisions.

4. Passenger transport enterprises shall buy insurance for their passengers.

5. The Minister of Construction shall prescribe passenger, luggage and cargo transport on national railways and specialized railways with rail connections to national railways.

6. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall prescribe railway transport on local railways in which they have invested or which are assigned to them for management.

7. The Government shall prescribe railway transport business conditions, the rights and obligations of railway transport enterprises, passengers, and transport hirers; and passenger ticket price exemption and reduction for social policy beneficiaries.

Article 50. Transport serving special and social security tasks and transport of dangerous goods

1. Transport serving special tasks means transport of people, goods and equipment for disaster, accident and epidemic prevention, control and consequence remediation and performance of urgent national defense and security tasks.

2. Transport serving social security tasks means passenger transport on railway lines, line sections and depot-to-depot sections to serve the residential community in a territorial region that the State needs to maintain in order to ensure common interests, and for which such transport cannot cover its costs.

3. Transport of dangerous goods means transport of goods containing dangerous substances or articles that, when transported on railways, are likely to cause hazards to human life and health, the environment, national safety and security.

4. Railway transport enterprises and enterprises engaged in the commercial operation of railway infrastructure shall carry out transport activities to serve special or social security tasks at the request of competent state agencies and shall receive support under regulations.

5. The State shall provide support to railway business enterprises in case of transport serving special or social security tasks, on the principle of fully covering reasonable expenses of the enterprises.

6. The Government shall detail this Article.

Section 3

ASSURANCE OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC ORDER AND SAFETY

Article 51. Activities to ensure railway traffic order and safety 

1. Activities to ensure railway traffic order and safety include:

a/ Ensuring safety for people, vehicles and assets of organizations and individuals joining railway traffic and transport;

b/ Ensuring centralized and uniform administration of railway transport activities;

c/ Preventing, stopping and combating acts of sabotaging railway works and acts infringing upon railway traffic safety corridors or railway work protection areas;

d/ Taking measures to prevent railway traffic accidents.

2. Acts violating railway traffic order and safety shall be promptly detected and prevented, and handled in accordance with law.

3. Subjects responsible for ensuring railway traffic order and safety:

a/ Organizations and individuals participating in railway traffic and transport activities;

b/ The public security force and local administrations at all levels in localities through which railways run;

c/ Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and related agencies and organizations.

Article 52. Management of railway safety

1. Train schedules serve as a basis for organizing train operation and shall be formulated annually to meet the population’s travel needs and cargo transport needs and may be adjusted when necessary for each line or the entire railway network. The implementation of a train schedule must adhere to the following principles:

a/ Centrality, uniformity and compliance with the announced train schedule;

b/ Safety and uninterruptedness based on the train schedule;

c/ Equality among railway transport enterprises.

2. The formulation, distribution and announcement of train schedules submit to inspection and supervision by the specialized state management agency in charge of railways.

3. The administration of railway transport is the process of management, coordination and supervision of activities related to passenger and cargo transport in order to ensure railway transport is safe, efficient, uninterrupted and equal among railway transport enterprises.

4. Load pass is the regulation on the maximum permissible load per axle and the maximum permissible distributed load along the length of rolling stock.

5. Speed pass is the regulation on the maximum permissible speed of rolling stocks when moving on railways.

6. Safety management of the railway system:

a/ High-speed railways, class-I railways and urban railways that are newly built or upgraded before being put into operation shall have their system safety evaluated and certified. Project owners shall select consulting units independent from project consulting units and project construction and equipment supply contractors to organize the system safety evaluation and certification;

b/ High-speed railways eligible for protection like national security-related important works must have strict processes for the operation and maintenance of their safety management systems formulated and submitted by management and operation agencies to the Ministry of Construction for decision;

c/ Organizations and enterprises managing, operating and exploiting railways shall build, publicize and maintain their operation safety management systems.

7. The Minister of Construction shall detail this Article.

Article 53. Responsibility of organizations and individuals upon occurrence of railway traffic accidents

1. Upon the occurrence of a railway traffic accident, related organizations and individuals shall perform the following tasks:

a/ Railway personnel on board the train shall make an emergency stop and organize rescue of victims and protection of assets of the State and victims, and at the same time promptly report the accident to the railway transport administration organization or the nearest railway station;

b/ Upon being notified of the accident, the railway transport administration organization or the railway station shall report it to the nearest Public Security office and People’s Committee for handling and remediation of consequences of the accident;

c/ Upon receiving the report on the railway traffic accident, competent persons of the nearest Public Security office and People’s Committee shall immediately come to the accident scene for handling.

2. Upon the occurrence of a railway traffic accident, if rolling stock and railway works are not damaged, the train may be permitted to continue operating after a record of the accident is made and another railway employee is appointed to work with the competent state agency.

3. Other vehicle drivers passing by railway traffic accident scenes shall transport victims to hospitals for emergency care, except cases where they are currently on emergency duty.

4. People’s Committees at all levels in localities where railway traffic accidents occur shall coordinate with Public Security offices and railway transport enterprises in organizing the rescue of victims and protection of assets of organizations and individuals. In case of a fatality whose identity is unknown, who has no relatives or whose relatives are unable to arrange his/her burial, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the accident has occurred shall organize the burial.

5. All organizations and individuals may not impede the restoration of railways and railway transport activities after railway traffic accidents occur.

6. The Minister of Construction shall detail this Article.

Article 54. Handling upon detection of incidents or violations on railways

1. Persons detecting acts or incidents that are likely to obstruct railway traffic and transport or threaten railway traffic and transport safety shall promptly notify such to railway stations, railway units, local administrations or the nearest Public Security office for taking handling measures. In case of emergency, train-stop signaling measures shall be promptly taken.

2. Organizations and individuals receiving notices or train-stop signals shall promptly take handling measures to ensure railway traffic and transport safety and notify units directly managing railway infrastructure for taking the initiative in coordinating with related units in promptly taking remedies.

3. Organizations and individuals committing acts of obstructing or threatening railway traffic and transport safety shall be handled. If causing any damage, they shall pay compensation in accordance with law.

Article 55. Responsibility for protecting order and safety in railway activities

1. Railway transport enterprises shall organize the protection of order and safety in railway activities; assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with organizations and individuals in, carrying out activities to ensure railway traffic order and safety under Clause 1, Article 51 of this Law.

2. The Public Security Force shall:

a/ Check and control people, freight and vehicles joining railway traffic in accordance with law;

b/ Carry out investigations to verify and remedy railway traffic accidents and handle acts violating the law on railway traffic;

c/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies, organizations and individuals in, maintaining security, order and safety in railway activities;

d/ The Ministry of Public Security shall organize professional training for employees of railway transport enterprises who are engaged in the protection of order and safety in railway activities;

dd/ The Minister of Public Security shall prescribe the order and contents of inspection and control for handling violations and investigating and verifying railway traffic accidents.

3. People’s Committees at all levels of localities having railways shall:

a/ Upon the allocation or lease of land areas along railway traffic safety corridors, arrange land areas for the construction of feeder roads, flyovers, tunnels and barriers in order to ensure railway traffic safety;

b/ Take measures to protect railway traffic safety corridors from illegal encroachment and ensure railway traffic order and safety;    

c/ Manage and increase traffic safety conditions at unauthorized passages; reduce or eliminate existing unauthorized passages under a schedule set by the Government; take responsibility for unauthorized passages;

d/ Ensure funding sources for the assurance of railway traffic safety within the ambit of their responsibility;

dd/ Take part in the handling of railway traffic accidents under Article 53 of this Law;

e/ Heads of local administrations of localities having railways shall take responsibility for the occurrence of railway traffic accidents in their localities in accordance with law.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 56. To amend and supplement or annul a number of articles of, and appendices to, relevant laws

1. To amend and supplement or annul a number of articles, clauses and points of Law No. 50/2014/QH13 on Construction, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 03/2016/QH14, Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 40/2019/QH14, Law No. 62/2020/QH14, Law No. 45/2024/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 55/2024/Qh15, Law No. 61/2024/QH15, Law No. 84/2025/QH15, and Law No. 93/2025/QH15, as follows:

a/ To add Point d following Point c, Clause 1, Article 78 as follows:

“d/ For railway projects eligible for formulation of front-end engineering designs (FEED) in replacement of basic designs in feasibility study reports, construction contractors and contractors to perform EPC, EC, EP or turn-key contracts shall be selected on the basis of approved investment projects; project owners may decide on the approval of designing steps following FEED.”;

b/ To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 2, Article 78 as follows:

“b/ Two-step design consisting of basic design and construction drawing design; or FEED and construction drawing design, for the case specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article;”;

c/ To amend and supplement Point h, Clause 2, Article 89 as follows:

“h/ Works under construction investment projects with their construction investment feasibility study reports appraised by specialized agencies in charge of construction for areas with 1:500-scale detailed plans or urban designs approved by competent agencies;”;

d/ To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 159 as follows:

“1. Organizations engaged in construction activities shall themselves disclose information about their construction capacity.”;

dd/ To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 159 as follows:

“3. Provincial-level Departments of Construction shall examine and handle violations in the observance of regulations on capability conditions by project owners, organizations and individuals engaged in construction activities in their localities.”;

e/ To add Clause 3a below Clause 3, Article 166 as follows:

“3a. Construction works for which construction permits are granted before July 1, 2025, and which are exempted from construction permits under this Law are not required to apply for their construction permits modified.”;

g/ To annul Clause 4, Article 148 and Clause 2, Article 159.

2. To amend and supplement Sub-Section 3, Section V, Part A of Appendix 1 to Law No. 97/2015/QH13 on Charges and Fees, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 09/2017/QH14, Law No. 23/2018/QH14, Law No. 72/2020/QH14, Law No. 16/2023/QH15, Law No. 20/2023/QH15, Law No. 24/2023/QH15, Law No. 33/2024/QH15, Law No. 35/2024/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 60/2024/QH15, Law No. 74/2025/QH15, Law No. 89/2025/QH15, and Law No. 94/2025/QH15, as follows:

3. To amend and supplement a number of sections of Appendix 02 to Law No. 16/2023/QH15 on Price, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 44/2024/QH15 and Law No. 61/2024/QH15, as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Section 3 and add Section 3a as follows:

b/ To amend and supplement Section 17 and add Section 17a as follows:

c/ To amend and supplement Section 36 as follows:

4. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 209 of Law No. 31/2024/QH15, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 43/2024/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 58/2024/QH15, Law No. 71/2025/QH15, Law No. 84/2025/QH15, and Law No. 93/2025/QH15, as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1 as follows:

“a/ Land areas for constructing national railway and local railway infrastructure; land areas for constructing offices of state agencies for routine activities in railway stations;”;

b/ To add Clause 5 below Clause 4 as follows:

“5. The Government shall prescribe the management and use of land areas reserved for railways.”.

5. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 34 of Law No. 21/2017/QH14 on Planning, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 15/2023/QH15, Law No. 16/2023/QH15, Law No. 28/2023/QH15, Law No. 31/2024/QH15, Law No. 35/2024/QH15, Law No. 38/2024/QH15, Law No. 43/2024/QH15, Law No. 57/2024/QH15, and Law No. 04/2025/QH15, as follows:   

“2. The Prime Minister shall approve national sectoral master plans, regional master plans and provincial master plans, except railway network master plans approved by the Minister of Construction.”.

Article 57. Provisions on application

1. In case this Law and other laws and resolutions of the National Assembly contain different provisions regarding the same issue, this Law shall prevail, unless laws and resolutions promulgated by the National Assembly after the effective date of this Law provide for higher incentives or more favorable conditions, which shall be applied.

2. The development of the urban railway network in Hanoi city may apply this Law and is not required to comply with the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3, Article 31; Point a, Clause 2, and Clause 3, Article 37 of the Law on the Capital.

3. Once every 3 years, the Government shall report results of the implementation of construction investment mechanisms and policies for railway projects specified in Section 2, Chapter II of this Law. The National Assembly and its Standing Committee shall conduct oversights under regulations. Provincial-level People’s Councils shall oversea the investment in local railway projects, TOD-model local railway projects, and TOD-model urban development projects.

Article 58. Effect

1. This Law takes effect on January 1, 2026, except Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Clause 1; and Point b, Clause 3, Article 56, and Sections 2 and 3, Chapter II, of this Law take effect on July 1, 2025.

3. Law No. 06/2017/QH14 on Railways, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 16/2023/QH15, Law No. 31/2024/QH15, Law No. 43/2024/QH15, and Law No. 47/2024/QH15, ceases to be effective on the effective date of this Law, except the cases specified in Article 59 of this Law.

Article 59. Transitional provisions

1. For railway projects for which investment policy has been decided beforce this Law takes effect, investment deciders shall decide to apply provisions under approved investment policy decisions or under this Law for subsequent steps.

2. For urban railways of which the construction commences before the effective date of this Law, and for which project owners have sent dossiers of request for system safety appraisal, competent agencies shall continue appraising projects and granting certificates of appraisal of urban railway system safety dossiers.

3. In case the provincial-level People’s Committee of a locality where a local railway or specialized railway is located, is not yet qualified for performing the tasks specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 47, and in Clause 4, Article 48 of this Law, the Minister of Construction shall continue to exercis the competence to grant rolling stock registration certificates as specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 47, and the competence to grant train driver licenses for trains operating on local railways or specialized railways as specified in Clause 4, Article 48 of this Law. Within 24 months from the effective date of this Law, provincial-level People’s Committees shall strengthen their organizational structures and personnel to grant rolling stock registration certificates and train driver licenses for trains operating on local railways or specialized railways in accordance with this Law.

This Law was passed on June 27, 2025, by the 15^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 9^th session.-

Chairman of the National Assembly
TRAN THANH MAN