Circular No. 38/2016/TT-BGTVT on handling railway traffic accidents and incidents

CIRCULAR

Article 24provisions on handling incidents, thi�t kS traffic accidents on railway tracks,organize credit institutions, foreign bank branches are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

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Based on the Civil Code dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to the Railway Law dated June 14, 2005;

Based on Decree No. 14/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 13, 20151regarding some articles of the Railway Law;"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation." July 25, 2017 Government Decree on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;i This Circular is promulgated with the National Technical Regulation on Quality of Fixed Land Broadband Internet Access Service (QCVN 34:2019/BTTTT).i implementing some articles of the Railway Law;

Decree No. 107/201Decree No. 2/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 of the Government"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation."structuring the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CP concerning the functions of the Ministry of Transport;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Traffic Safety and the Director of the Vietnam Railways Corporation;

AND Director The Ministry of Transport issues this Circular to provide for the handling of incidents, thi�t kS traffic accidents on railways.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation     

This Circular stipulates principles, responsibilities of organizations and individuals, procedures, contents, measures for handling, analysis work, statistical and reporting systems on incidents, traffic accidents occurring on the national railway system and dedicated railways connected to the national railway system.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals related to railway transportation activities on the national railway system and dedicated railways connected to the national railway system.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Traffic accident on railway means an incident where railway transportation vehicles collide with each other, derail, overturn, hit people or other transportation vehicles, or obstacles while in operation causing damage to human life, health, or property.

2. IncidentNo. involving railway transportation refers to events occurring during railway transportation activities that hinder train operations but do not result in traffic accidents on railways.

3. Person injured in a railway traffic accident is a person who suffers physical injury with a disability rate as prescribed by law, affecting their normal life due to the direct impact of the traffic accident.

4. Person killed in a railway traffic accident is a person who dies at the accident scene or on the way to emergency care; a person injured in the accident who receives emergency care but dies at the hospital or home.

5. Railway Transportation Operations Center is a unit subordinate to a business operating the national railway infrastructure or dedicated railways connected to the national railway system. The Railway Transportation Operations Center is responsible for commanding all train operations on the national railway system or dedicated railways connected to the national railway system.

6. Handling railway traffic accidents involves organizing rescue, recovery; participating and coordinating in investigating and analyzing the causes of railway traffic accidents.

7. Chairman of the IncidentHandling Committee, railway traffic accident is the person in charge or authorized to handle incidents and railway traffic accidents at the scene.

Article 4. Principles for handling railway traffic accidents

1. Handling railway traffic accidents must ensure absolute safety, speed, and timeliness.

2. When a railway traffic accident occurs, organizations and individuals involved in railway operations must cooperate in handling it.

3. Immediate medical assistance must be provided to victims, securing the accident scene, and protecting state, enterprise, and victim's property.

4. Railway traffic accidents must be promptly reported to relevant organizations and individuals.

5. All organizations and individuals have the responsibility to immediately go to the scene upon receiving information about a railway traffic accident to handle it; they shall not obstruct the restoration of railway operations and railway transportation activities following a railway traffic accident.

6. The Chairman of the Railway Traffic Accident Handling Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Chairman of the Committee) has the authority to mobilize all available resources at the site, including other railway businesses, to serve the rescue efforts for railway traffic accidents.

7. Organize the resumption of railway transportation activities as quickly as possible without hindering the investigation and handling work of competent authorities.

Article 5. Principles for Handling Railway Traffic Incidents

1. Railway traffic incidents must be documented in a report.

2. When railway traffic incidents occur in the section between stations, the documentation shall be carried out by the train conductor or the locomotive driver (if there is no train conductor). In cases where railway traffic incidents occur within station limits, the documentation shall be carried out by the station dispatcher or the station master.

3. Railway traffic incidents must be promptly reported to relevant organizations and individuals.

Chapter II

CLASSIFICATION AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR HANDLING ON RAILWAY TRAFFIC INCIDENTSÔINCIDENTS

Article 6. Classification According to Cause

Railway traffic accidents include those caused by subjective reasons and those caused by objective reasons:

1. Accidents caused by subjective reasons are those resulting from violations of laws and regulations on railway transportation by organizations or individuals under railway business enterprises.

2. Accidents caused by objective reasons are those due to force majeure (natural disasters, enemy actions), or other causes outside the subjective responsibility of railway business enterprises.

Article 7. Classification According to Severity of Damage Caused by Railway Traffic Accidents         

1. Minor railway traffic accidents are those causing injuries to one to five people or property damage valued at twenty million dong to less than one hundred million dong.

2. Serious railway traffic accidents are those causing one death or injuries to six to eight people or property damage valued at one hundred million dong to less than five hundred million dong.

3. Very serious railway traffic accidents are those causing two deaths or injuries to nine to ten people or property damage valued at five hundred million dong to less than one billion five hundred million dong.

4. Particularly serious railway traffic accidents are those causing three or more deaths or injuries to eleven or more people or property damage valued at one billion five hundred million dong or more.

Article 8. Responsibilities of the Train Conductor or Locomotive Driver (if there is no train conductor) when a railway traffic accident occurs           

1. Organize immediate first aid and emergency care for the injured persons and protect state assets, enterprise assets, and personal assets of the injured according to Article 15 of this Circular.

2. Organize protection of the accident site according to Article 16 of this Circular.

3. Report the accident immediately to relevant organizations and individuals according to Section 2 Chapter III of this Circular.

4. Prepare a report and submit it to the competent state authorities according to the form prescribed in Appendix 1 issued together with this Circular (if the station master or police have already prepared an accident file) or prepare an initial accident file to transfer to the competent state authorities and appoint someone to stay behind to work with the competent state authorities according to Section 3 Chapter III of this Circular.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the Station Master when a railway traffic accident occurs   

1. Upon receiving information about a railway traffic accident, the station master must either go directly or send someone to the scene to coordinate with the train conductor or locomotive driver and other rescue forces to assist in providing emergency care to the injured and organizing protection of the accident site according to regulations and participate in activities to mitigate the consequences of the accident.

2. The station master must prepare an initial accident file (if the accident occurs within the station area under his/her jurisdiction) or accept the initial accident file prepared by the train conductor or locomotive driver (when the accident occurs in the section between stations) and transfer it to the competent state authorities as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 21 of this Circular.

3. The station master is responsible for initially resolving the aftermath of the train accident if the Chairman of the Accident Resolution Council has not yet arrived at the scene.

Article 10. Responsibilities of enterprises operating national railway infrastructure and enterprises managing and operating dedicated railways connected to national railways

1. Enterprises operating national railway infrastructure shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with related enterprises managing and operating dedicated railways to organize the resolution of railway traffic accidents on national railways; participate in rescue operations on dedicated railways connected to national railways when requested.

2. When a railway traffic accident occurs, enterprises operating national railway infrastructure and enterprises managing and operating dedicated railways connected to national railways shall establish an Accident Resolution Board or delegate tasks to individuals with authority based on the cause and extent of damage to resolve the accident.

3. When railway transportation means of enterprises operating railway transport suffer a railway traffic accident on dedicated railways connected to national railways, the General Director of the enterprise operating national railway infrastructure shall be responsible for coordinating with the General Director or Director of the enterprise managing and operating dedicated railways to establish an Accident Resolution Board, but the Board must include representatives from both sides to jointly resolve the accident.

4. The General Director of the enterprise operating national railway infrastructure and the General Director or Director of the enterprise managing and operating dedicated railways shall specify the procedures for establishing an Accident Resolution Board or delegating tasks to individuals to lead the resolution of the accident; assign specific tasks to Board members and relevant units under their management; and specify detailed procedures for rescue operations on railway areas under their management to ensure that the consequences of the accident are resolved quickly and safely.

Article 11. Responsibilities of the Chairman of the Accident Resolution Board and Members of the Board   

1. The Chairman of the Accident Resolution Board shall issue necessary decisions, coordinate with relevant agencies and local authorities to resolve the accident in accordance with the law, and direct the completion of the following tasks:

a) Organize medical treatment for victims, protect the scene and property;

b) Participate in investigations and prepare inspection records at the scene upon request of the police agency;

c) Coordinate with relevant agencies and local authorities to complete legal procedures for the burial of victims;

d) Develop plans for medical treatment and allocate personnel to transfer passengers and goods; rescue locomotives and carriages; repair bridges, roads, and other damaged equipment to quickly restore train operation through the accident site and reopen the line; ensure safety during rescue operations;

e) Compile accident records and determine the workload and manpower of participating rescue and relief units;

f) Prepare comprehensive reports; propose commendations and disciplinary actions for organizations and individuals involved in resolving the accident; propose measures to competent authorities to restore normal railway operations and address related issues;

g) Aggregate losses from the accident to provide information to competent agencies for investigation and compensation according to the law (if applicable) for affected organizations and individuals.

2. Members participating in the Board must thoroughly perform their assigned tasks and fulfill all assigned duties; all other organizations and individuals involved in resolving the accident must follow the Chairman's directives and comply with all his decisions.

Article 12. Responsibilities of entities participating in railway traffic operations        

When a railway traffic accident occurs causing disruption to railway traffic, the leaders of businesses operating railway infrastructure, railway transport businesses, units managing and using railway transportation means, and other entities related to the accident must immediately dispatch authorized personnel to quickly arrive at the scene to grasp the situation and participate in resolving the accident and restoring traffic.

Article 13. Responsibilities of the Vietnam Railway Administration    

1. The Vietnam Railway Administration is responsible before the Minister of Transport for promptly urging, monitoring, participating, and coordinating with railway business enterprises and relevant agencies and units to resolve accidents and restore traffic; coordinating to participate in investigating and resolving accidents upon request of competent public security authorities.

2. Upon receiving information about a railway traffic accident, the Inspection-Safety Teams (under the Vietnam Railway Administration) must promptly dispatch personnel to the scene to carry out the following tasks:

a) Participate in supporting the resolution of the accident; supervise and collect materials to serve the analysis, determination of causes, and handling of violations;

b) Coordinate in the investigation and resolution of the accident upon request of competent public security authorities;

c) Timely report the accident to the Vietnam Railway Administration.

Article 14. Responsibilities of People's Committees where railways pass through  

When a railway traffic accident occurs, the People's Committees at all levels where the accident takes place have the responsibility to coordinate with public security agencies and businesses operating railway infrastructure to organize rescue and relief efforts, protect state assets, business assets, and the assets of victims. In cases where there are deceased persons whose whereabouts are unknown, who have no relatives, or whose relatives are unable to bury them, the People's Committee where the accident occurred has the responsibility to organize burial.

Chapter III      

PROCEDURE FOR RESOLVING RAILWAY TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Section 1. EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE FOR VICTIMS AND SECURING THE ACCIDENT SITE        

Article 15. Organization of emergency medical care for victims          

1. The train conductor or locomotive driver (if there is no train conductor on board) must immediately organize first aid for the victims. Based on the actual situation, implement the following provisions:

a) If the location of the accident is favorable for transporting the victim to a medical facility by other means of transportation, personnel must be dispatched or urgently mobilized to transport the victim to the nearest medical facility for emergency care;

b) Organize the transfer of the victim onto the train or locomotive and take them to the most convenient station for further emergency care;

c) In cases where it is not possible to transport the victim for emergency care as stipulated in points a and b of this clause, request support from relevant agencies, units, and nearby medical facilities for transportation and medication;

2. Along with organizing emergency care for injured individuals and assigning personnel to watch over the victims, if there are people on the affected vehicles that need to be transferred to other carriages or moved to the ground, personnel must be assigned to watch over and secure the property (in cases involving hazardous goods, safety measures must be implemented);

3. When there are injured individuals in the station or on the train who are handed over to the station, the station master or the train dispatcher must organize emergency care for the victims.

Article 16. Organization for the Protection of Accident Sites   

1. In the event of an accident within the railway section:

a) The train conductor and the driver shall be responsible for organizing the protection of the accident site in accordance with current regulations;

b) In cases where there is no train conductor on board, upon receiving a report of an incident or accident from the relief driver, the station master or the shift controller at both ends of the section, or the traffic control center's dispatcher shall promptly take measures to block the section (if necessary) or inform the driver of the following train (if any) so that the driver can implement protective measures according to regulations.

2. In the event of an accident within the station area:

The shift controller at the station shall be responsible for organizing the protection of the accident site in accordance with current regulations.

Section 2. REPORTING OF ACCIDENTS   

Article 17. Procedure for Reporting Accidents

1. The train conductor or the driver (in case there is no train conductor) must immediately report to the nearest station shift controller or the traffic dispatcher.

2. The station shift controller must immediately report to the following organizations or individuals:

a) The traffic dispatcher;

b) The shift controller at the adjacent station;

c) The station master.

3. The station master must immediately report to the following organizations or individuals:

a) The nearest public security agency responsible for the area where the accident occurred;

b) The nearest People's Committee (in cases of fatal accidents and other situations requiring coordination with local People's Committees);

c) The Railway Safety Inspection Team in the region;

d) Relevant units within the station and infrastructure management units in the region (in cases of accidents involving national railways).

4. The traffic dispatcher and the shift controller must immediately report to the following organizations or individuals:

a) The leadership of the Railway Transport Operations Center and the leadership of the business entity managing the national railway infrastructure (for national railways);

b) The leadership of the business entity managing and operating dedicated railways and related units, and organizations to participate in handling the accident (for dedicated railways).

5. The leadership of the Railway Transport Operations Center must immediately report to the leadership of the business entity managing the national railway infrastructure to direct and organize the handling of the accident and rescue operations in accordance with regulations, while simultaneously reporting to the leadership of the Vietnam Railways Administration for coordination.

6. For serious and particularly serious traffic accidents, the leadership of the business entity managing the national railway infrastructure and the leadership of the Vietnam Railways Administration must immediately report to the leadership of the Ministry of Transport for direction; and simultaneously report to the Traffic Police Corps to implement.

7. In cases where rescue operations may cause prolonged disruption to the main line, the leadership of the Vietnam Railways Administration and the leadership of the business entity managing the national railway infrastructure must update the progress of handling, the measures taken, and immediately report to the leadership of the Ministry of Transport.

Article 18. Measures for Reporting

1. When an accident occurs, the train conductor or the driver (in case there is no train conductor) must quickly find all means through communication tools or direct contact to report the accident to relevant organizations and individuals as stipulated in Article 17 of this Circular.

2. If the individuals specified in Article 17 of this Circular cannot communicate with one of the relevant organizations or individuals, they should request the organization or individual they have contacted to cooperate and assist in reporting to the remaining organization or individual.

Article 19. Contents of Information to be Reported

1. The initial contents of information about accidents must be timely, accurate, and include the following main elements:

a) Location where the accident occurred (kilometer, section, commune, ward, district, county, province, city);

b) Time when the accident occurred;

c) Number of fatalities, number of injured persons;

d) Preliminary status of the scene, damaged vehicles, affected infrastructure;

đ) Other information as required by the recipient of the report.

2. In addition to reporting initial information as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the train conductor or driver (if the accident occurs outside the section); the station master or duty officer (if the accident occurs within the station) must prepare an accident report according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 1 issued together with this Circular. The accident report shall be submitted along with the initial case file of the accident to relevant authorities as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 21 of this Circular.

3. The Vietnam Railway Administration and national railway infrastructure business organizations shall establish permanent departments, set up 24/7 telephone numbers to receive and promptly report information on incidents and railway traffic accidents, and publicly announce telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses on mass media.

Article 20. Handling Reports of Accidents

Every organization and individual upon receiving a report of an accident or a request for cooperation and support in reporting must take all measures to implement the request and report back to the requester (if possible), while immediately implementing tasks and professional measures as prescribed if the accident falls within their scope of responsibility. If the accident does not fall within their scope of responsibility, they must continue to report the accident to the responsible organization or individual and cooperate and support closely when requested by the responsible organization or individual.

Section 3. ESTABLISHING THE INITIAL CASE FILE OF THE ACCIDENT       

Article 21. Establishing the Initial Case File of the Accident

1. When an accident occurs, along with providing emergency care to victims, the train conductor or driver (if the accident occurs within the section), the station master or duty officer (if the accident occurs within the station) must establish the initial case file.

The initial case file established by the train conductor or driver (if there is no train conductor for accidents occurring within the section) shall be handed over to the nearest station master or duty officer to transfer to competent state agencies.

2. The initial case file of the accident includes:

a) Accident record (content of the accident record established according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 2 issued together with this Circular);

b) Report of related railway staff (according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 3 issued together with this Circular);

c) Report of at least two witnesses who are not involved in the accident (according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 4 issued together with this Circular);

d) Record of handover of victims, property, and related documents (according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 5 issued together with this Circular);

đ) Diagram of the accident scene (according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 6 issued together with this Circular).

3. After establishing or receiving the initial case file of the accident within 48 hours from the time of the accident, the station master or duty officer must prepare three copies (duplicates) and send them to relevant agencies as follows:

a) One copy sent to the public security agency of the district or county where the railway traffic accident occurred;

b) One copy sent to the Inspection and Safety Team of the railway area;

c) One copy sent to the unit directly managing and operating the railway under the national railway infrastructure business organization.

4. In cases where the accident occurs on dedicated railways, the station master or duty officer, after establishing or receiving the initial case file, must comply with the provisions of point a, point b of Clause 3 of this Article and send it to the enterprise managing and operating the dedicated railway.

Mục 4. RESOLUTION OF AFTERMATH AND RESTORATION OF TRAFFIC       

Article 22. Resolution of aftermath and restoration of traffic in cases involving fatalities  

1. When there is a fatality, the train captain or the locomotive driver (if the train does not have a train captain) must assign someone to watch over and protect the victim until handing them over to the competent authority for resolution. If the train can continue running but the location of the fatality obstructs the operation of the train, mark the location of the fatality (must be clearly recorded in the accident report) and move the victim out of the obstructed area to allow the train to continue running. If the accident cannot be reported according to Clause 1, Article 17 of this Circular, stop at the first station to report the accident as required.

If only the engine crew is present, the locomotive driver assigns the assistant locomotive driver to stay and watch over the victim, allowing the locomotive driver to continue running the train at a speed that ensures safety until stopping at the next station to clear the space. In case of an accident where there is only one locomotive driver on the train, the locomotive driver has the right to delegate the task to a railway staff member performing duties at the accident site to stay and watch over the victim or must stay directly to watch over the victim and use the fastest means of communication to report the accident to the nearest station. Upon receiving the accident report, the station master or the duty dispatcher must quickly send someone to watch over the victim so that the locomotive driver can continue running the train.

2. In cases where there is a fatality on the train, the train captain shall deliver the body of the victim to the nearest station, hand it over to the station master or the duty dispatcher for resolution. If the victim's relatives are traveling with them and if they request it, the train captain may facilitate their disembarkation at a convenient station but not exceeding 100 kilometers from the location where the victim died. In all cases, the direction of returning the victim to the departure station shall not be resolved.

3. When there is a fatality due to a railway traffic accident within the station or handed down to the station, the station master or the duty dispatcher must organize watching over the victim and coordinate with the police and other relevant agencies to continue resolving the situation.

4. Burial of victims:

a) In cases where the deceased has accompanying relatives or is a local person or an employee of an organization near the station, the station master participates in coordinating with the police and local authorities to complete the procedures as prescribed by law. The burial of the victim is handled by the local government, relatives, or the victim's employer;

b) In cases where the identity of the deceased cannot be determined, after completing the procedures to establish the accident file in coordination with the police and local authorities, the station master contacts the local authorities at the accident site to hand over the body of the victim for burial according to the provisions of Article 14 of this Circular;

c) In cases where the deceased is a foreigner, the station master coordinates with the police and local authorities to report to the provincial public security agency for resolution.

5. The burial file of the victim is implemented in accordance with relevant laws.

6. When the Chairman of the Council or the person assigned to lead the accident resolution arrives at the scene (in cases where the station master is not assigned to lead the accident resolution), the station master reports back and implements the aftermath resolution work concerning the deceased according to the instructions of the Chairman of the Council or the person assigned to lead the accident resolution.

Article 23. Restoration of traffic in cases requiring rescue assistance           

1. In case of accidents, railway traffic incidents, or other unusual situations leading to the need to stop trains where those present at the scene are unable to resolve to ensure the safety of continued train operation, the train conductor or locomotive driver (if outside the yard) or the station master or the yard dispatcher (if within the station) must request rescue assistance.

2. The person requesting rescue assistance must promptly observe the scene, compile the situation, report fully and accurately the content of the rescue request, and be responsible for the content of their own rescue request. After making the rescue request, they must work with relevant unit personnel present at the scene to inspect and examine the scene, then draft an initial record, while assigning someone to protect the scene until competent authorities arrive to handle it.

3. In cases where information about a train accident occurring outside the yard is reported by someone not involved in yard operations, the yard dispatcher or station master must immediately report to the train dispatching control center and the adjacent station to quickly arrange for personnel to go to the scene to check and proceed with the procedures for requesting rescue assistance.

4. When the authorized infrastructure business unit arrives to handle the situation, the handover of files, documents, equipment, and other related evidence shall be carried out according to the requirements of the infrastructure business unit.

5. The General Director of the national railway infrastructure business enterprise shall specify the organization of rescue operations and restoration of traffic on national railways, and the General Director or Director of the railway management and operation enterprise shall specify the organization of rescue operations and restoration of traffic on dedicated railways.

Article 24. Restoration of traffic in cases not requiring rescue assistance

1. When an incident or accident occurs, the train conductor or locomotive driver (if outside the yard); the station master or yard dispatcher (if within the station) after coordinating with relevant individuals to inspect the locomotive, carriages, and railway equipment, if there is no damage or insignificant damage, all obstructions have been removed from the locomotive, carriage, and train can continue running, then the train may continue running after completing the Initial Record.

2. In cases where the train collides with large livestock such as buffalo or cattle without affecting the safety of train operation, the train does not need to stop.

Article 25. Initial funds for resolving consequences and restoring traffic         

The national railway infrastructure business enterprise is responsible for the funds to serve the resolution of consequences of railway traffic incidents and accidents and the restoration of traffic in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 26. Compensation for damages  

1. All organizations and individuals causing railway traffic incidents and accidents must compensate for damages (including delays caused by the incident or accident), and pay the costs of resolving the incident or accident resulting from their violation as stipulated by law.

2. After resolving the consequences of railway traffic incidents and accidents, the parties responsible must implement compensation and remediation as follows:

a) In cases where the parties involved reach an agreement to remedy the consequences and compensate for damages, they must have a unified agreement on the amount and form of compensation between the parties; sign and clearly state the names of the relevant persons.

b) In cases where the parties involved in the railway traffic accident cannot reach an agreement to remedy the consequences, they must follow the provisions of the law.

Chapter IV      

ANALYSIS, COMPENSATION AND REGIME OF STATISTICS AND REPORTING OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS

Article 27. Analysis of Railway Traffic Accidents and Incidents          

1. Railway traffic accidents and incidents must be analyzed to determine causes, responsibilities, and measures for remediation and prevention to prevent similar occurrences. The analysis of railway traffic accidents and incidents must be based on current laws.

2. The General Director of the national railway infrastructure business enterprise shall be responsible for organizing the analysis of railway traffic accidents and incidents occurring on national railways. The General Director or the Director of the specialized railway management and operation enterprise shall be responsible for organizing the analysis of railway traffic accidents and incidents within their management scope. For very serious and particularly serious accidents, the Minister of Transport shall decide to establish an Accident Investigation Board or authorize the Director of the Vietnam Railways Administration to establish such a board no later than three days from the date of the accident. The Accident Investigation Board shall include representatives from the railway infrastructure business enterprise, the Vietnam Railways Administration, invited representatives from the Traffic Police Department, relevant agencies and units, and experts in railway transportation safety.

Article 28. Statistical Reporting System      

1. All accidents and incidents must be documented in a file to serve as a basis for analyzing and concluding on causes, summarizing overall safety conditions in railway operations, and advising leaders at all levels on ensuring railway traffic order and safety.

2. The national railway infrastructure business enterprise and the specialized railway management and operation enterprise shall be responsible for organizing the storage of files, statistics, reporting, and summarizing situations regarding railway traffic accidents and incidents.

3. Monthly, quarterly, every six months, nine months, and annually, the national railway infrastructure business enterprise and the specialized railway management and operation enterprise must summarize the situation of railway traffic accidents and incidents according to regulations and report to the Vietnam Railways Administration. The Vietnam Railways Administration shall be responsible for reporting to the Ministry of Transport, with reports made according to the Model specified in Appendix No. 7 issued together with this Circular.

4. Immediately upon completion of the analysis of very serious and particularly serious accidents, the Chairman of the Board shall be responsible for reporting to the Vietnam Railways Administration for consolidation and reporting to the Ministry of Transport.

Chapter V       

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 29. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 1, 2017.

2. The Circular No. 15/2009/TT-BGTVT dated August 4, 2009, of the Minister of Transport on handling railway traffic accidents and incidents, and the Circular No. 29/2013/TT-BGTVT dated October 7, 2013, amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Circular No. 15/2009/TT-BGTVT dated August 4, 2009, of the Minister of Transport on handling railway traffic accidents and incidents, are hereby abolished.

Article 30. Implementation

1. Enterprises participating in railway activities shall be responsible for disseminating and guiding subordinate units, organizations, and individuals involved in railway transportation activities to implement this Circular.

2. The Vietnam Railways Administration shall organize the implementation of this Circular.

3. The General Director of the national railway infrastructure business enterprise shall specify the procedures for handling railway traffic accidents on national railways; the General Director or the Director of the specialized railway management and operation enterprise connected to national railways shall specify the procedures for handling railway traffic accidents on specialized railways connected to national railways.

4. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, they shall be reported to the Vietnam Railways Administration for consolidation and reporting to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution.

5. The Head of the Ministry's Office, the Head of the Ministry's Inspectorate, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Railways Administration, the General Director of the national railway infrastructure business enterprise, the Heads of relevant agencies and units, and related individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.