Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.- Governing scope
This Law provides the planning on, investment in, construction and protection of railway infrastructures; railway traffic means; rights and obligations of organizations and individuals involved in railway activities; railway traffic rules, signals, order and safety assurance; railway business.
Article 2.- Subjects of application
1. This Law applies to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals involved in railway activities in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. Where treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party contain provisions different from those of this Law, the provisions of such treaties shall apply.
Article 3.- Interpretation of terms
In this Law, the terms below shall be construed as follows:
1. Cargo luggage means the goods consigned on any passenger trains on which the consigners do not travel.
2. Common bridges mean bridges with surfaces used commonly for both railway traffic means and road traffic means.
3. Train operation means activities to operate the movement of railway traffic means.
4. Possessions mean evidences permitting railway traffic means to move into station-to-station sections. Possessions are expressed in color signal lights, semaphore signals, line cards, licenses, line notes.
5. Load pass means the regulations on the permitted maximum load per axle and the permitted maximum even-spread load according to the length of railway traffic means, which are prescribed for each bridge, section, station-to-station section, depot-to-depot section or rail line.
6. Speed pass means the regulations on the permitted maximum speed of a railways traffic means running on each bridge, section, station-to-station section, depot-to-depot section or rail line.
7. Railway works mean works constructed in service of railway communications and transport, including railways, bridges, culverts, tunnels, embankments, retaining walls, stations, water drainage systems, communications and signaling systems, power supply systems and other railway works and support facilities.
8. Crossroads mean road sections on level crossing with railways, which are built and exploited under the permission of the Ministry of Transport.
9. Railway stations mean the places where railway traffic means stop, shunt, overtake, load and/or unload cargoes, take and disembark passengers, perform technical operations and other services. A railway station comprises terminals, station plaza, warehouses, cargo yards, platforms, fence walls, service areas, necessary equipment and facilities and other railway works.
10. Superweight cargoes mean undetachable goods, with weight exceeding the permitted tonnage of wagons, rail lines.
11. Superlong cargoes mean undetachable bales with sizes exceeding the limited sizes of locomotives, and/or cars of corresponding gauges.
12. Railway activities mean activities of organizations and individuals in the domains of railway planning, development investment, business, assurance of railway communications and transport order and safety and other related activities.
13. Station platforms mean railway works in railway stations in service of passengers' embarkation onto and disembarkation from trains, cargo loading and unloading.
14. Railway infrastructures mean railway works, railway work protection areas and railway traffic safety corridor.
15. Railway gauge means the shortest distance between two inner edges of rails.
16. Depot-to-depot section means a number of station-to-station sections and successive railway stations, suitable to train operation.
17. Station-to-station section means a railway section linking two adjacent stations, measuring from the station-entry signaling post of one station to the nearest station-entry signaling post of the opposite station.
18. Level-crossing intersection means a place where two or more rail lines intersect on the same level.
19. Grade-crossing intersection means a place where two or more rail lines intersect on different levels.
20. Railway traffic means include locomotives, cars, self-propelled cars and specialized vehicles on rail tracks.
21. Railway public-utility products, services mean those necessary for railway communications and transport activities and the revenues from the provision thereof under the market mechanism cannot make up for the expenses therefor.
22. Trains mean railway traffic means formed by locomotives and cars or single locomotive, self-propelling cars, propelling specialized vehicles moving on rail tracks.
23. Rail route line means one or many successive depot-to-depot sections, measuring from the first railway station to the last one.
Article 4.- Basic principles in railway activities
1. To ensure smooth, orderly, safe, accurate and efficient railway communications and transport activities; to contribute to socio-economic development, maintain national defense and security, and protect the environment.
2. To develop railways under plannings and plans toward modernity and synchronism; to combine railway communications and transport with other modes of communications and transport.
3. To administer railway communications and transport activities in a unified and concentrated manner.
4. To clearly define the state management by state agencies from business management by enterprises; the infrastructure business from transport business on railways invested by the State.
Article 5.- Railway development policies
1. The State concentrates investment in the development of national railway and urban railway infrastructures towards modernity.
2. The State encourages domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to invest in, do business with, railway infrastructures and railway transport; to participate in bidding for provision of railway public-utility products and/or services.
3. The State ensures the environment for fair competition without discrimination; protect the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals of all economic sectors participating in railway investment and business.
4. The State encourages scientific research, application of advanced sciences and technologies and training of human resources for development of modern railways.
Article 6.- Overall planning on railway development
1. The overall planning on railway development shall serve as a basis for elaboration of detailed specialized plannings and orientations for investment, construction, synchronous, rational and uniform development of the railway communications and transport network nationwide, creating conditions for tapping the existing potentials and developing the capacity of the railway sector.
2. The overall planning on railway development shall be formulated on the basis of the socio-economic development strategy; the satisfaction of defense and security requirements; the close association with the overall plannings on development of other modes of communications and transport.
3. The overall planning on railway development shall comprise contents on the development of infrastructures, traffic means, human resource training, science, technologies, industry and support service networks in the railway sector.
4. The Minister of Transport shall organize the formulation of the overall planning on railway development and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval.
Article 7.- The state management responsibilities of the Government, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies with regard to railway activities
1. The Government shall perform the unified state management of railway activities.
2. The Ministry of Transport shall be answerable to the Government for performance of the state management of railway activities.
3. The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Defense, the People's Committees of provinces or centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial-level People's Committees) and the relevant ministries as well as branches in, organizing the application of measures to protect social order and safety in railway activities; organize forces to inspect and handle violations of the law on railways by people and means participating in railway communications and transport according to the provisions of law; make statistics and supply data on railway traffic accidents.
4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in, managing the exploitation of natural resources within the areas of railway land, the areas adjacent to railway work protection boundaries, which affect the safety of railway works as well as of railway communications and transport.
5. The Ministry of Industry shall have the responsibility to give priority to ensuring a stable source of electricity supply for electrified railways as well as railway communication and signaling systems.
6. Other ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies shall, within the ambit of their respective tasks and powers, have to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in performing the state management over railway activities.
Article 8.- Provincial-level People's Committees' responsibilities for state management of railway activities
1. To organize, direct the implementation of legislation on railways; measures to protect railway infrastructures; protect the railway traffic safety corridors; organize rescues and settle consequences of railway traffic accidents upon the occurence thereof in their respective localities.
2. To formulate and organize the implementation of their localities' plannings on development of urban railway infrastructures.
3. To ensure railway communications and transport order and safety; to inspect and handle violations of railway legislation in their respective localities.
Article 9.- Railway inspectorate
1. The railway inspectorate is placed under the Ministry of Transport's inspectorate, performing the function of specialized inspection of railway activities.
2. The organization, functions, tasks and powers of the railway inspectorate shall comply with the provisions of law on inspection.
Article 10.- Propagation and dissemination of, education in, railway law
1. Railway agencies and units shall have the responsibility to organize the propagation and dissemination of, and education in, railway law for cadres, officials and employees under their respective management; coordinate with local administrations at all levels in localities where railways run through in propagating and mobilizing people to observe the railway law.
2. Local administrations at all levels shall have the responsibility to propagate, disseminate and educate in railway law constantly and widely to their local people.
3. The information and propagation agencies shall have the responsibility to organize the regular and widespread propagation and popularization of railway law to the entire population.
4. The state management agencies in charge of education and training shall have the responsibility to direct the railway law education in educational institutions.
5. Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations shall have the responsibility to coordinate with the concerned bodies and local administrations in propagating and mobilizing people to observe the railway law.
Article 11.- Responsibilities of organizations and individuals upon occurrence of railway traffic accidents
1. Upon the occurrence of railways traffic accidents, the train drivers or other railway personnel onboard the trains must urgently stop the trains. The train captains shall have the responsibility to organize the railway personnel onboard the trains and people present at accident scenes to rescue and assist victims, protect the property of the State and the victims, and at the same time immediately report thereon to the railway traffic control organizations, police offices, People's Committees at the nearest places, and perform the following tasks:
a) In cases where trains, tracks are damaged, to make reports on the accidents and supply information related to the accidents at requests of competent state agencies;
b) In cases where trains, tracks are not damaged, to continue with the trains' journeys after making reports on the accidents and appointing people to work on their behalf with competent state agencies.
2. Operators of other traffic means, when passing through the places where the railway traffic accidents have occurred, shall have the responsibility to carry victims for emergency treatment, except for cases where they are performing urgent tasks.
3. The police offices and relevant organizations and individuals, upon receiving reports on railway traffic accidents, shall have to immediately come to the scenes for settlement.
4. People's Committees of the localities where the railway traffic accidents have occurred shall have the responsibility to coordinate with the police offices, railway enterprises in rescuing the victims and protecting the property of the State and the victims. In cases where victims die without identification, without relatives or with relatives who are, however, incapable of carrying out the burial, People's Committees of the localities where the railway traffic accidents have occurred shall have the responsibility to bury the dead persons.
5. All organizations and individuals must not hinder the restoration of railways and railway traffic activities after the occurrence of railway traffic accidents.
Article 12.- Prohibited acts in railway activities
1. Sabotaging railway works, railway traffic means.
2. Encroaching upon railway traffic safety corridors, railway work protection areas.
3. Opening crossroads, building flyovers, tunnels, culverts or other works across railway without permission.
4. Removing or falsifying railway works, signaling equipment, fixed signboards without permission.
5. Hanging, sun-drying and placing things, which hide or falsify railway traffic signals.
6. Obstructing train operations, arbitrarily giving signals or using equipment to stop trains, except for case of detecting incidents, which cause unsafety to railway traffic.
7. Stepping over barricades or barriers, crossing crossroads when the red light is on, crossing over fences separating railways from surrounding areas.
8. Placing obstacles, pouring hazardous substances, wastes on railways, or inflammable or explosive substances in railway work protection areas and railway traffic safety corridors.
9. Grazing animals, holding marketplaces on railways, in railway work protection areas or railway traffic safety corridors.
10. Walking, standing, lying, sitting on roofs of cars, locomotives or car stairs; clinging to, standing or sitting on the sides of cars, locomotives or the couplings between cars or between cars and locomotives; opening train doors or putting heads, arms, legs or other things outside the cars when trains are running, except for railway personnel or police men who are performing their tasks.
11. Walking, standing, lying or sitting on railways, except railway personnel patrolling railways or repairing, maintaining tracks or railway traffic means.
12. Throwing earth, stones or other objects onto or from trains.
13. Carrying goods banned from circulation, diseased animals, illegally carrying radioactive, inflammable and/or explosive substances, wild animals into railway stations and/or onboard trains.
14. Transporting goods banned from circulation, or diseased animals; illegally transporting wild animals;
15. Making or using fake tickets; selling tickets in contravention of regulations for purposes of gaining illicit profits.
16. Putting means and/or equipment failing to reach technical safety standards or means and/or equipment without registration certificates or registry and inspection certificates into operation on railways.
17. Operating trains beyond the prescribed speeds.
18. Having the alcoholic content of 80 milligrams/100 milliliters of blood or 40 milligram/liter of breath by railway personnel in direct service of train operations while performing their tasks.
19. Abusing positions and/or powers to harass for bribes or cause troubles; performing or tolerating acts of law violation when performing tasks.
20. Other acts strictly prohibited under the railways law.
Tìm kiếm
Luật Đường sắt 2005 (Bản Word)