The Ministry of Transport has proposed a significant overhaul of Vietnam's railway management system, as outlined in the Draft Revised Railway Law.
The proposed changes aim to make operations more effective, increase productivity and better serve the transportation needs of the country.
According to the new framework, Vietnam's railway system will be classified into national, local and specialized railways.
The first will be directly managed by the Ministry and will serve the transportation needs of the entire country, economic zones and transnational transport.
The second will be managed by local governments and will serve passenger transportation in urban areas, and passenger and freight transportation within the borders of a centrally managed city or province.
The third will be managed by organizations or individuals and will respond to the specific transportation needs of these organizations.
Regional railways are defined as a special type of local railways that pass through multiple provinces and centrally managed cities. For these, a lead locality will be appointed to coordinate investment and management efforts.
The funds allocated for the construction of regional railways will be shared among the provinces and districts according to the length of the railways passing through each region or according to a mutually agreed rate.
Vietnam Railway Corporation (VRC) oversees the country's railway network of more than 3.100 km and serves 297 stations.
The network includes 34 railway lines connecting 15 provinces and cities across the country and two transnational lines connecting to China's railway system.
VRC also manages the complex infrastructure of bridges, tunnels and signaling systems associated with railway lines.
