Directive No. 251/TTg on strengthening work to protect order and safety on railway lines.

 DIRECTIVE

ON ENFORCING MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN THE WORK OF MAINTAINING ORDER AND SAFETY ON RAILWAY LINES

Railways are a very important mode of transport for the national economy. In recent years, the railway sector has made many efforts to serve various economic sectors as well as national defense. However, the work of protecting railways still has many shortcomings. Recently, the situation regarding order and safety on railway lines has deteriorated and at times become serious; compliance with railway regulations and internal rules has been lax, negative phenomena have developed, causing significant losses to carriages, locomotives, and goods; smuggling and theft have flourished on trains. The above situation requires resolute implementation of effective measures to strengthen management and protection of order and safety on railway lines.

To quickly bring the work of maintaining order and safety in the railway sector into a regular routine, the Prime Minister assigns the following responsibilities to relevant ministries and levels to implement immediately:

1. The Ministry of Transport (specifically the Railway General Department) shall be responsible for:

- Implementing strictly the Directive 81 of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat on combating corruption and Decree No. 217-CP of the Council of Ministers on four systems to ensure compliance with railway regulations, procedures, rules, and norms; ensuring trains run on time and stop at designated stations; implementing technical safety procedures and norms properly; protecting socialist public property well; ensuring the lives and property of train passengers. Strictly and promptly handle violations of railway management regulations and rules, regardless of their size.

- Actively building railway stations in each province and city, ensuring that all station areas have fences to control the entry and exit of tickets, goods, and documents. Improve ticket sales methods to facilitate passengers and avoid inconvenience. Tickets sold to passengers must correspond to the seating capacity of the train. Resolutely end the black market for tickets; the station master will be held responsible if there is a black market for tickets. Anyone selling black market tickets must be dealt with according to the law; passengers must comply with internal rules to maintain order and safety on the train. Passenger cars must have lights when running at night and loudspeakers to control activities on the train.

- Strengthening close and regular cooperation between the railway sector, especially railway station units and localities through which railway lines pass. Railway units operating within a locality must be under the direction of that locality's authorities regarding security protection work, organizational life, and be subject to inspection on the implementation of the Party and State's policies and guidelines.

- Reviewing the cadre, worker, and staff team, resolutely removing and replacing those who have committed serious political and moral errors (lacking sense of responsibility and revolutionary vigilance, lacking organizational awareness and discipline, embezzlement, bribery, etc.) currently holding leadership positions and key roles.

- Rectifying trade union and youth league work, regularly educating cadres, workers, and staff to enhance their political awareness, sense of responsibility, organizational awareness and discipline, and revolutionary moral qualities; enhancing revolutionary vigilance, fighting against intelligence and psychological warfare activities on trains, etc.; while also paying great attention to improving the material and spiritual life of cadres, workers, and staff.

2. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall be responsible for:

- Strengthening guidance to build the railway police force into a clean, strong, and capable entity to effectively perform its role as the core in railway protection work.

- Cooperating with the Railway General Department to organize protective forces among railway workers and staff, with comprehensive plans to counter the plots and activities of anti-revolutionary elements and other criminals, aiming to maintain security, order, and safety in the railway sector.

- Directing provincial and municipal public security departments to closely coordinate with military and railway forces to effectively perform tasks of maintaining order and safety at stations and on trains, organizing campaigns to arrest saboteurs, robbers, smugglers, and thieves of state and passenger property.

- Increasing railway police forces to perform duties on trains and at stations when necessary to maintain order and security.

3. The Ministry of National Defense shall be responsible for:

Directing local military agencies to cooperate with local public security agencies and the railway sector to organize unified campaigns in critical regions and on special trains to arrest saboteurs, robbers, smugglers, and thieves of state and passenger property.

In necessary cases, deploying military forces together with railway workers and staff and public security, tax forces to maintain order and security at stations and on trains. Local militia and self-defense forces near railways have the duty to participate in patrolling and guarding railway security. All military personnel traveling on trains must set an example by complying with railway regulations, maintaining revolutionary qualities, and promoting awareness of common security and order.

4. People's Committees of provinces and cities with railway lines passing through shall be responsible for:

- Organizing good protection of railway sections passing through their localities, promptly detecting and resolving incidents occurring on railways.

- Building a strong patriotic security movement, educating people in railway-adjacent communes about revolutionary vigilance and railway order and safety work so that everyone understands and complies, while also fighting to detect and prevent violations. Implementing necessary administrative measures such as concentrated education and reform, residence bans, compulsory labor, etc., for individuals who may endanger railway safety.

- Selecting trustworthy individuals, organizing patrol and guard forces along railways, focusing on protecting bridges, tunnels, and critical sections. Costs for equipment and allowances for these forces shall be covered by the railway sector.

- Assist the railway sector in constructing and reinforcing important stations within the locality such as fencing station areas, organizing ticket sales, cracking down on scalpers selling tickets on the black market, maintaining order and cleanliness at stations, rearranging and managing private businesses serving passengers...

- Organize and direct campaigns to crack down on hoodlums, thieves, smugglers, and scalpers selling tickets on the black market at stations, on trains, and handle matters related to railway protection. The campaign steering committee shall include representatives from the Provincial/Municipal People's Committee, Public Security Department, Military Command of the province/city, railway units stationed locally, all under the unified direction of the Provincial/Municipal People's Committee.

- Strengthen the organization of authorities and mass organizations in all aspects in communes, wards, and residential areas along the railway tracks surrounding stations.

Ensuring order and safety on the railways is now an urgent task. The Prime Minister requests that the Ministry of Transport (Railway General Administration), the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Provincial/Municipal People's Committees where railways pass through organize close cooperation to thoroughly implement this directive. Efforts should be made to fundamentally end disorder at stations and on trains by National Day, September 2; ensure trains depart and arrive on time, and create momentum for the steady operation of the railway sector.