Circular No. 25/2021/TT-BGTVT amends and supplements several Articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 issued by the Minister of Transport regarding standards, duties, and powers for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; content and training programs for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; conditions, content, procedures for examination and issuance, reissuance, and revocation of railway locomotive driver licenses; Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGTVT dated March 1, 2021 issued by the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing several Articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 and Circular No. 24/2020/TT-BGTVT dated October 13, 2020 issued by the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing several Articles of Circulars stipulating regular reporting requirements in the railway sector.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport on standards, duties, and authorities for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; contents and training programs for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; conditions, contents, examination procedures, and issuance, reissuance, and revocation of railway locomotive driver licenses; Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGTVT dated March 1, 2021, issued by the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018; and Circular No. 24/2020/TT-BGTVT dated October 13, 2020, issued by the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing some articles of Circulars stipulating regular reporting systems in the railway sector.

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Pursuant to the Railway Law dated June 16, 2017;

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 10, 2017, issued by the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Traffic Safety and the Director of the Vietnam Railway Administration,

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular to amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport on standards, duties, and authorities for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; contents and training programs for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; conditions, contents, examination procedures, and issuance, reissuance, and revocation of railway locomotive driver licenses; Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGTVT dated March 1, 2021, issued by the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018; and Circular No. 24/2020/TT-BGTVT dated October 13, 2020, issued by the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing some articles of Circulars stipulating regular reporting systems in the railway sector.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport on standards, duties, and authorities for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; contents and training programs for railway staff positions directly serving train operations; conditions, contents, examination procedures, and issuance, reissuance, and revocation of railway locomotive driver licenses.

1. Supplementing Point d Clause 2 and Clause 5 to Article 29 as follows:

a) Supplementing Point d to Clause 2 of Article 29 as follows:

“d) Members of the Examination Board for issuing locomotive driver licenses to the first drivers on newly operational urban rail lines with technology used for the first time in Vietnam: In addition to the members specified in Points a, b, and c of this clause, there must also be a member from the Project Investor (or the organization entrusted by the Project Investor to manage the urban rail project).”

b) Supplementing Clause 5 to Article 29 as follows:

“5. Duties, authorities, and responsibilities of the Examination Board for issuing locomotive driver licenses to the first drivers on newly operational urban rail lines with technology used for the first time in Vietnam:

a) Checking, reviewing, and evaluating the validity and contents of the application for a locomotive driver license according to the provisions of this Circular;

b) Preparing the Minutes of the Examination Board's work according to the model prescribed in Appendix IIa attached to this Circular;

c) Summarizing and reporting the results of the Examination Board's work according to regulations and recommending to the Vietnam Railway Administration whether to issue or not to issue a locomotive driver license according to the model prescribed in Appendix IIb attached to this Circular.”

2. Amendment and supplementation Article 35 is as follows:

"Article 35. Procedures for Issuing Driving Licenses for Train Drivers

1. Issuance of driving licenses for train drivers on operational railway lines

a) Procedure:

Enterprises or individuals requiring to take the examination for obtaining a driving license shall submit one set of application documents directly or through the postal service or other appropriate means to the Vietnam Railway Administration;

The Vietnam Railway Administration will receive and examine the application documents. In cases where the documents are incomplete according to regulations, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall be responsible for guiding enterprises or individuals to complete the documents immediately on the same working day (for direct submission) or guide them to complete the documents within two working days from the date of receipt (for submissions through the postal service or other appropriate means).

Within two working days from the date of receiving complete application documents according to regulations, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall decide to establish the Examination Board for issuing driving licenses for train drivers and the Examination Team as stipulated in Articles 29 and 30 of this Circular, and notify in writing the enterprise or individual of the examination time and location. Within three working days from the date of examination results, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall issue the driving license for train drivers. In cases where the conditions for issuing the driving license are not met, there must be a written response stating the reasons.

b) Application documents for taking the examination and obtaining a new driving license include:

An application form for taking the examination and obtaining a new driving license as prescribed in Appendix IV attached to this Circular; a request for organizing the examination and issuing a driving license for train drivers by the enterprise as prescribed in Appendix V attached to this Circular; a certificate of meeting health standards for train drivers as prescribed by the Minister of Health; a certified copy or a copy accompanied by the original for verification of a vocational qualification certificate or a certificate for operating rail transportation vehicles corresponding to the type of vehicle being examined; three color photographs measuring 3x4 cm taken within six months from the date of submitting the application.

2. Issuance of driving licenses for the first train drivers on newly operational urban railway lines with technology used for the first time in Vietnam

a) Procedure:

Urban railway business enterprises requiring issuance of driving licenses shall submit one set of application documents directly or through the postal service or other appropriate means to the Vietnam Railway Administration. The application documents must be submitted to the Vietnam Railway Administration at least one year before the urban railway line begins commercial operation. After this period, the Vietnam Railway Administration will not consider issuing driving licenses for urban railways as stipulated in this clause.

The Vietnam Railway Administration will receive and examine the application documents. In cases where the documents are incomplete according to regulations, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall be responsible for guiding the enterprise to complete the documents immediately on the same working day (for direct submission) or guide them to complete the documents within two working days from the date of receipt (for submissions through the postal service or other appropriate means).

If the documents are complete, within two working days, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall issue a decision to establish the Examination Board for issuing driving licenses for train drivers as stipulated in Article 29 of this Circular.

Within three working days from the date of issuing the decision to establish the Examination Board, the Examination Board for issuing driving licenses for train drivers must report the results of its implementation according to regulations and recommend the Vietnam Railway Administration to issue driving licenses for train drivers who meet the requirements. In cases where train drivers do not meet the requirements, the reasons must be clearly stated.

Within three working days from the date of receiving the report on the results of implementation and recommendations of the Examination Board for issuing driving licenses for train drivers, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall issue driving licenses for train drivers recommended by the Examination Board for issuing driving licenses for train drivers. In cases where the conditions for issuing the driving license are not met, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall provide a written response stating the reasons.

b) Application documents for obtaining a driving license include:

A request for issuing a driving license for train drivers by urban railway business enterprises as prescribed in Appendix Va attached to this Circular;

An application form for obtaining a driving license for train drivers by the train driver as prescribed in Appendix Vb attached to this Circular; three color photographs measuring 3x4 cm taken within six months from the date of submitting the application; a certificate of meeting health standards for train drivers as prescribed by the Minister of Health;

Confirmation by the urban railway business enterprise or the Project Investor (or the organization entrusted by the Project Investor to manage the urban railway project) that the proposed train driver has directly operated trains safely during the system-wide trial operation of the Project as prescribed in Appendix Vc attached to this Circular; a certified copy or a copy accompanied by the original for verification of a certificate or certification issued by a qualified training institution for the train driver's legal knowledge training in urban railway operations as required;

A valid copy: A completion acceptance record of the human resource training project for urban railway operations, including a list of proposed train drivers, along with diplomas, certificates, or graduation certificates in urban railway transportation vehicle operation issued by the training institution through the project's training and technology transfer process.

3. Application documents for issuing driving licenses for train drivers as stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall be stored at the Vietnam Railway Administration for a period of twenty years. The destruction of expired documents shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations."

Article 2. Repeal Clause 3, Clause 4 of Article 1 of Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BGTVT dated March 1, 2021, issued by the Minister of Transport, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport, on standards, duties, and powers for railway staff directly serving train operations; the content and training program for railway staff directly serving train operations; conditions, content, procedures for examination and issuance, reissuance, and revocation of railway locomotive driving licenses, and Circular No. 24/2020/TT-BGTVT dated October 13, 2020, issued by the Minister of Transport, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circulars on periodic reporting systems in the railway sector.

Article 3. Effectiveness

This Circular takes effect from January 15, 2022.

Article 4. Organization of Implementation

1. The Vietnam Railway Corporation shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular in coordination with relevant agencies and organizations. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, they shall compile opinions from units and enterprises and report to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution.

2. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Inspector General, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Railway Administration, the Heads of agencies and units, and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.