Circular No. 32/2020/TT-BGTVT amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 14, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport on the inspection of quality, technical safety, and environmental protection of railway transport vehicles, and Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport on the implementation of system safety assessment and certification for urban rail transit.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 14, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on quality inspection, technical safety, and environmental protection for railway transportation vehicles and Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on implementing system safety assessment for urban railways.

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On the basis of Railway Law June 16, 2017;

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

At the proposal of the Director of the Science and Technology Department and the Director of the Vietnam Vehicle Inspection Agency;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Traffic Safety and the Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, 29/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 14, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on quality inspection, technical safety, and environmental protection for railway transportation vehicles and Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on implementing system safety assessment for urban railways.

1. Clause 1 of Article 5 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Quality inspection during production and assembly shall be carried out for locomotives, carriages, specialized railway vehicles, assemblies, equipment, and components produced and assembled anew on national railways and dedicated railways."

2. Article 6 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 6. Import Inspection

1. Import inspection shall be carried out for:

a) New imported locomotives, carriages, and specialized railway vehicles, and used imported locomotives, carriages, and specialized railway vehicles running on national railways and dedicated railways;

b) New imported assemblies, equipment, and components installed on vehicles running on national railways and dedicated railways;

c) New imported urban railway carriages; new imported specialized railway vehicles and used imported specialized railway vehicles temporarily imported for re-export."

2. The registration dossier for inspection includes:

a) An application for inspection from the importing unit according to the form prescribed in Appendix 1 issued together with this Circular;

b) Overall drawings and technical characteristic documents;

c) A copy with the original for comparison or a certified copy of the certificate of origin for newly imported products;

d) A copy with the original for comparison or a certified copy of the manufacturer's quality certificate for newly imported products;

d) Reports on the results of testing and inspecting vehicles, assemblies, equipment, and components by the manufacturer or testing organization for newly imported products.

3. Content of inspection:

a) Inspection according to the contents stipulated in current technical regulations;

b) For tail-end signal equipment, inspection shall be carried out according to the provisions in Appendix VII issued together with this Circular.

4. Time of inspection:

a) For newly imported and used imported vehicles running on national railways and dedicated railways, newly imported urban railway carriages, and newly imported and used specialized railway vehicles temporarily imported for re-export: the inspection time shall be conducted after the importing unit has provided complete dossiers and the inspection authority can access the vehicles; the importing unit must ensure inspection conditions according to current technical regulations;

b) For assemblies, equipment, and components on national railways and dedicated railways: the inspection time shall be conducted before installation on the vehicle.

5. Inspection methods:

a) For vehicles, assemblies, and equipment: individual product inspection;

b) For components: typical sample inspection for each batch of components according to relevant standards and technical regulations;

c) For urban railway carriages: static inspection and coupling into trains according to operational configurations on the route as stipulated in current technical regulations."

3. Article 7 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 7. Inspection of Conversion

1. Provisions on inspection of conversion

a) Inspection of conversion shall be carried out for locomotives, carriages running on national railways and dedicated railways, and specialized railway vehicles that have changed steel structure, usage functions, and technical parameters and characteristics of systems, assemblies, and equipment;

b) Inspection of conversion does not apply to vehicles that only change tail-end signal equipment and urban railway carriages running on urban railways."

2. The registration dossier for inspection includes:

a) An application for inspection from the conversion facility or the vehicle owner according to the form prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Circular;

b) Copies of the vehicle registration certificate; overall drawings of the vehicle before and after conversion; technical documents (drawings and descriptions, calculations) of converted assemblies, equipment, and systems; descriptions and calculations related to the conversion content;

c) Copies with the original for comparison of certificates of origin, quality certificates, and related technical documents of new assemblies, equipment, and components used;

d) Self-inspection results of the conversion facility or the vehicle owner.

3. Content of inspection: inspection according to the contents stipulated in current technical regulations and design documents.

4. Inspection method: individual vehicle inspection."

4. Article 8 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 8. Periodic Inspection

1. Periodic inspection during operation shall be carried out for:

a) Locomotives, carriages, specialized railway vehicles, and tail-end signal equipment running on national railways and dedicated railways;

b) Urban railway carriages and specialized railway vehicles running on urban railways.

2. The registration dossier for inspection includes:

a) A periodic inspection application from the maintenance and repair facility or the vehicle owner according to the form prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Circular;

b) Copies of the vehicle registration certificate (for cases where the vehicle is newly produced, assembled, or imported and undergoing its first periodic inspection or the vehicle has changed its registration number);

c) Technical documents of assemblies, equipment, and systems replaced during maintenance and repair;

d) The self-inspection results of the maintenance and repair facility or the vehicle owner.

3. Periodic inspection cycle:

a) The periodic inspection cycle shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions set forth in Appendix VI issued together with this Circular;

b) For national railway vehicles and urban rail carriages, the inspection shall be conducted concurrently with the regular maintenance and repair cycles at each level but shall not exceed the time limit specified in the periodic inspection cycle set forth in Appendix VI issued together with this Circular.

4. Inspection contents:

a) Safety performance inspection in accordance with the current technical regulations;

b) For tail-end signal equipment, inspection shall be carried out according to the provisions in Appendix VII issued together with this Circular.

5. Inspection method: individual vehicle or tail signal equipment inspection. For urban rail carriages, static carriage inspection and formation into train sets according to operational configurations on the route or test tracks as prescribed in current technical regulations.

5. Point c Clause 4 Article 9 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“c) For urban rail carriages, inspect the carriages in their static state and form them into train sets according to operational configurations on the route or test tracks as prescribed in current technical regulations.”

6. Article 10 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 10. Issuance of Quality and Technical Safety and Environmental Protection Certificates and Inspection Stamps

1. Organizations and individuals shall prepare documents in accordance with Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8 of this Circular and submit them directly or through postal services or other appropriate means to the Vietnam Registering Agency.

2. The Vietnam Registering Agency shall accept and review the document components within one (01) working day, except for urban rail carriages which shall be reviewed within ten (10) working days. If the document components are complete, the Vietnam Registering Agency shall proceed to review the document content. If the document components are incomplete, the Vietnam Registering Agency shall guide organizations and individuals to complete them.

3. The Vietnam Registering Agency shall review the document content within five (05) working days for production, assembly, import, modification inspections, and within one (01) working day for periodic inspections; for urban rail carriages, the document content shall be reviewed within thirty (30) working days. If the document content is invalid, the Vietnam Registering Agency shall notify organizations and individuals within one (01) working day from the end of the document content review. If the document content is valid, the Vietnam Registering Agency shall issue a notice to schedule a unified inspection time and location for product inspection at the site.

4. The Vietnam Registering Agency shall conduct actual field inspections and proceed as follows:

a) If the inspection results meet the requirements, the Vietnam Registering Agency shall issue a quality, technical safety, and environmental protection certificate according to the model prescribed in Appendix III issued together with this Circular within three (03) working days for production, assembly, import, modification inspections or one (01) working day for periodic inspections from the end of the inspection and affix the inspection stamp to the vehicle according to the model prescribed in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular.

b) If the inspection results do not meet the requirements, the Vietnam Registering Agency shall issue a notification of non-compliance with quality, technical safety, and environmental protection standards for railway transport vehicles according to the model prescribed in Appendix V issued together with this Circular within one (01) working day from the end of the inspection. In cases of imported vehicles, this notification shall be sent to relevant agencies for coordination.”

7. Clause 2 Article 13 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. Validity of certificates and inspection stamps:

a) The validity period of the certificates and inspection stamps issued according to the periodic inspection cycle set forth in Appendix VI issued together with this Circular;

b) This certificate shall become invalid if the actual technical parameters of the vehicle differ from those stated in the issued certificate; if the vehicle is damaged due to accidents, natural disasters, acts of sabotage, or during storage and transportation to the extent that it does not meet the technical safety and environmental protection requirements as prescribed.”

8. Supplement point d Clause 1 Article 15 as follows:

“d) Ensure the conditions for vehicle inspection in accordance with current technical regulations.”

9. Supplement point c, point d Clause 2 Article 15 as follows:

“c) Ensure the conditions for vehicle inspection in accordance with current technical regulations;

d) Notify in writing and return the Certificate and Inspection Stamp to the Vietnam Registering Agency when exporting temporarily imported and re-exported vehicles.”

10. Supplement point d Clause 3 Article 15 as follows:

“d) Ensure the conditions for vehicle inspection in accordance with current technical regulations.”

Article 2. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Minister of Transport on the implementation of safety assessment and certification for urban rail systems (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT), as follows:

1. Clause 2 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 2. Scope of Application

This Circular applies to organizations related to the management and operation of urban rail systems; safety assessment and certification; review of safety system documentation for new and upgraded urban rail lines; and periodic certification of the safety management system during operation.

2. Clause 5, Clause 8 of Article 3 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"5. The outline of the task for safety assessment and certification (hereinafter referred to as the Assessment and Certification Outline) is a document established by the Certification Organization at the request of the Project Owner to describe contents related to the work of safety assessment and certification.

8. Periodic inspection and certification of the safety management system is the regular inspection and evaluation by the State Management Agency to certify that the Safety Management System maintained by the Operating Organization operates continuously and effectively in accordance with the provisions of this Circular."

3. Supplement Clause 13 of Article 3 as follows:

"13. Equipment refers to urban rail carriages, excluding specialized equipment for construction, maintenance, and repair of the railway."

4. Article 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 4. General Provisions on Safety Assessment and Certification

1. New urban rail systems must undergo safety assessment and certification by the Certification Organization and the Vietnam Railway Administration before being put into operation, and obtain a Safety System Documentation Review Certificate.

2. Urban rail systems undergoing upgrades must also undergo safety assessment and certification by the Certification Organization and the Vietnam Railway Administration, and obtain a Safety System Documentation Review Certificate. The upgrade content must be assessed and certified for safety and reviewed for safety system documentation, including:

a) Changes to the information and signaling control system;

b) Changes in vehicle types;

c) Renovation of the traction power supply system;

d) Increased transport capacity and expanded scale;

đ) Changes in the organizational structure of the Operating Organization.

3. The Assessment and Certification Outline established by the Certification Organization and approved by the Project Owner must include at least the following contents:

a) Scope of assessment and certification;

b) Methods and procedures for implementation;

c) Safety limits and risk acceptance criteria;

d) Plan for conducting assessment and certification;

d) Transfer documents."

5. Clause 1 of Article 5 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Urban rail business enterprises must establish and maintain a safety management system and be periodically inspected and certified by the Vietnam Railway Administration during operation."

6. Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 7. Contents of Safety Assessment and Certification when Upgrading

1. For items upgraded according to points a, b, c, đ of Clause 2 of Article 4 of this Circular, the following shall be implemented:

a) Assess reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety for items upgraded according to points a, b, c of Clause 2 of Article 4 of this Circular;

b) Integrated system assessment;

c) System trial run assessment after upgrading;

d) Safety Operation Management System assessment.

2. For the item Changing the Organizational Structure of the Operating Organization, only the Safety Operation Management System assessment shall be conducted."

7. Article 10 shall be supplemented and amended as follows:

"Article 10. Provisions on Review Documentation

1. Review documentation includes:

a) A valid application for review according to the model prescribed in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular;

b) A valid copy of the Assessment and Certification Outline and all updated versions approved by the Project Owner;

c) Evaluation reports confirmed by the Project Owner and a valid copy of the Safety System Certification from the Certification Organization.

2. Submission time: All documentation must be submitted after the Certification Organization completes the assessment documentation.

3. Method of submission: The Project Owner shall submit the review documentation directly or through postal service to the Vietnam Railway Administration."

8. Article 11 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 11. Contents of Review

The contents of reviewing safety system documentation for new construction and upgrades include:

1. Checking the validity and completeness of the documentation according to Clause 1 of Article 10 of this Circular.

2. Reviewing the contents of evaluation reports according to the approved outline.

3. Verifying the completion of all assessment contents as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular for newly constructed urban rail lines and Article 7 of this Circular for upgraded urban rail lines."

9. Article 12 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 12. Procedure for Conducting Reviews

1. The Project Owner shall prepare one set of documentation as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 10 and send it to the Vietnam Railway Administration within three (03) working days. Within three (03) working days of receiving the documentation, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall issue a receipt notice according to the model in Appendix 5 attached to this Circular, and simultaneously forward the documentation to the Construction Management and Quality Control Bureau and the Vietnam Vehicle Inspection Agency.

2. Upon receipt of the documentation, the relevant bureaus shall conduct reviews according to the provisions of Article 11 of this Circular. Within twenty (20) working days of receiving the documentation, the Construction Management and Quality Control Bureau and the Vietnam Vehicle Inspection Agency shall send a review result notification according to the model in Appendix 6 attached to this Circular to the Vietnam Railway Administration.

3. Within five (05) working days of receiving the review result notifications, if the review results meet the requirements, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall issue a Safety System Documentation Review Certificate according to the model in Appendix 3 attached to this Circular. If the review results do not meet the requirements, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall compile the review results and transfer them to the Project Owner for supplementation and completion."

10. Article 17 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 17. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. Responsibilities of the Vietnam Railway Administration:

a) Chair the review of safety system documentation for new construction and upgrades of urban rail transit systems; review the safety system evaluation report of the certification organization regarding contents related to: on-board and trackside information-signaling systems; traction power supply systems; platform screen doors (if applicable); integrated system assessment; operational testing assessment; emergency passenger evacuation plan risk assessment on elevated bridges, in tunnels, and at stations;

b) Consolidate the review reports from the Construction Management and Transport Works Quality Control Department, and the Vietnam Motor Vehicle Inspection Center to issue the Safety System Review Certificate;

c) Conduct periodic reviews and certify the safety operation management system;

d) Chair the preparation of budgets and organize the collection of fees for reviewing safety system documentation for new construction and upgrades, and for periodic reviews and certifications of the safety operation management system;

2. Responsibilities of the Construction Management and Transport Works Quality Control Department:

a) Review the safety system evaluation report of the certification organization regarding contents related to: design plans for elevated bridges, tracks, and tunnels; smoke control works and equipment; send the review results to the Vietnam Railways Administration for consolidation;

b) Coordinate with the Vietnam Railways Administration to prepare budgets and organize the collection of fees for reviewing safety system evaluation reports according to current regulations;

3. Responsibilities of the Vietnam Motor Vehicle Inspection Center:

a) Review the safety system evaluation report of the certification organization regarding contents related to vehicles, excluding onboard signaling systems; send the review results to the Vietnam Railways Administration for consolidation;

b) Coordinate with the Vietnam Railways Administration to prepare budgets and organize the collection of fees for reviewing safety system evaluation reports according to current regulations.”

11. Article 19 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 19. Responsibilities of the Project Sponsor

1. Select a certification organization that has the necessary qualifications to conduct system safety evaluations and certifications for urban rail transit lines.

2. Approve the outline of the evaluation and certification prepared by the certification organization.

3. Chair and coordinate with the operating organization to establish a safety operation management system for newly constructed or upgraded urban rail transit lines.

4. Prepare and complete the safety system review documentation in accordance with Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular.

5. Compile a list of standards applicable to the evaluation and certification of safety systems and submit it for approval by the investment decision-making authority in accordance with regulations.

6. Safeguard and retain all evaluation and certification documentation in compliance with regulations and hand over all such documentation fully to the operating organization when the urban rail transit line is put into operation.

7. Pay the fees for reviewing the safety system documentation for urban rail transit lines in accordance with the provisions of the law.”

12. Clause 3 of Article 20 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“3. Maintain and improve the safety operation management system in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.”

13. Clause 2 of Article 21 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. Implement in strict accordance with the approved evaluation and certification outline and ensure that the implementation content complies with the provisions of Articles 6 and 7 of this Circular; bear legal responsibility before the law and the project sponsor for the results of the safety system evaluation and certification.”

14. Article 22 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 22. Transitional Provisions

1. For urban rail transit projects with construction contracts signed before the effective date of the Railway Law (July 1, 2018), safety system evaluation and certification will not be carried out; if the project sponsor has signed a safety system evaluation and certification contract, it shall be implemented in accordance with the contract but without conducting a safety system documentation review.

2. For urban rail transit projects with construction contracts signed after the effective date of the Railway Law (July 1, 2018), they shall be implemented in accordance with this Circular.”

15. Add Appendix 5 to Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT as stipulated in Appendix 2 of this Circular.

16. Add Appendix 6 to Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT as stipulated in Appendix 3 of this Circular.

Article 3.

4. Repeal Clause 3, Article 5, Clause 3, and Clause 7, Article 6 of Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT.

5. Replace the phrase "Vietnam Motor Vehicle Inspection Center" with "Vietnam Railways Administration" in the following clauses: Clause 4, Article 13; Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 15; Appendix 3; Appendix 4 of Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT.

6. Replace the phrase "signaling system" with "information-signaling system" in the following clauses: Clause 1, Article 6; Clause 4, Article 9 of Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT.

Article 4. Effective date

This Circular takes effect from January 29, 2021.

State-owned enterprises that have been assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct offshore wind power project surveys before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to implement according to the assigned documents; any new matters arising after the effective date of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

1. The Vietnam Railways Administration is responsible for chairing and coordinating with relevant agencies and organizations to implement this Circular. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, compile the opinions of 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 of the Ministry, the Heads of Departments, the Directors of the Vietnam Railways Administration, the Vietnam Motor Vehicle Inspection Center, the Construction Management and Transport Works Quality Control Department, the Heads of agencies, units, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Circular./.

 

ANNEX 1

(Issued together with Circular No. 32/2020/TT-BGTVT dated December 14, 2020 of the Minister of Transport)

Appendix VI

INSPECTION CYCLE

 

ANNEX 2

(Issued together with Circular No. 32/2020/TT-BGTVT dated December 14, 2020 of the Minister of Transport)

… (Name of economic organization) requests to change the Certificate of Registration for Currency Exchange Agent with the following content:

SAMPLE NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION FILE

 

NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION FILE

File code: ......

The Vietnamese Railway Corporation hereby notifies

Receipt of the application file for urban rail transit safety system assessment of: ....

Address: …

Phone number:... Email: ...

Content requested: ...

I. Components of the submitted application file include:

1 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Number of files:...(set)

II. Requirements for supplementing and completing the application file:

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……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Enter into the Application File Tracking Register, Volume No.:...Serial No......

 

 

ANNEX 3

(Issued together with Circular No. 32/2020/TT-BGTVT dated December 14, 2020 of the Minister of Transport)

ANNEX 6

SAMPLE NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS FOR URBAN RAIL TRANSIT SAFETY SYSTEM APPLICATION FILE

 

NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS FOR URBAN RAIL TRANSIT SAFETY SYSTEM APPLICATION FILE

dated August 4, 2025, of the Minister of Home Affairs on measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Encouragement and Reward and Decision No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT Pursuant to Decision No. 15/2018/QĐ-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on the implementation of safety system evaluation and certification for urban rail transit and Circular No.  /2020/TT-BGTVT dated  /  /2020 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT Pursuant to Decision No. 14/2018/QĐ-BGTVT dated May 14, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on the inspection of technical safety quality and environmental protection of railway transport vehicles and Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on implementing system safety assessment for urban railways.

Based on the evaluation and certification results of the Certification Organization: (name of Certification Organization)

The Assessment Authority (Name of Authority) hereby notifies the review results of the safety system application file as follows:

I. GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE RAILWAY LINE

Name of urban rail transit line/section:...

Project sponsor:...

Address: …

Operating organization:...

Address: …

II. CONTENT OF THE ASSESSMENT

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IV. ASSESSMENT OPINION

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VI. CONCLUSION

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