Outdated infrastructure, limited funds and operator negligence have been identified as the main causes serious accidents on the rail.

An accident occurred at Quang Nam Province on May 27

A train crashed into a truck in Thanh Hoa Province on May 24 on the main north-south line, killing two people and injuring nine. Three days later, another collision occurred on the same railway in Nghe An Province. Luckily no-one was hurt. This was the fifth railway accident in just four day which saw three deaths and 10 injuries.

A report from the Vietnam Railways Corporation said that from September 16 2017 to April 15 2018, there were 199 rail accidents, killing 91 people and injuring 122 others.

According to Vu Anh Minh, chairman of Vietnam Railways Corporation, there are many reasons for the high number of rail accidents, including infrastructure that was built about a century ago, staff negligence, and the huge number of over 4,200 illegal and unofficial level crossings.

He went on to say that the corporation reviewed accidents to improve the sector with new technology and remove several level crossings. However, the funding for upgrading and maintenance is limited. It is wholly dependent on the state budget which can only meet 30% of necessary expenditure. 

"80% to 90% of the trains are over 20 years old," he said. "However, it is also rare that so many serious rail accidents occur so close together as seen last week."

Vu Quang Khoi, director of the Vietnam Railway Authority, said after every accident, Vietnam Railways Corporation were made to review operating processes to avoid similar cases. But the operators still neglect their work sometimes and co-operation with local authorities is still lacking. Vietnam Railways Corporation takes all responsibility for the operation of the sector, the Vietnam Railway Authority only inspects and issues regulations to ensure the crew and passenger safety, he said.

Before the 2017 Railway Law was issued, there were no regulations on the decommissioning of trains. However, the law will only take effect from July 1. Trains and equipment will be inspected before being used and old trains will be removed for safety reasons, Khoi said. Several investors have requested information on potential involvement in railways but none have shown an interest.

In 2010, the Japan International Co-operation Agency provided more than VND9.20trn (USD404.34m) to help Vietnam repair the North-South railway and upgrade level crossings. Nguyen Huu Duc from the JICA said the railway sector had to depend on the state budget and didn't have enough money to upgrade the safety system at level crossings.

"Some gatekeepers are too dependent on the automatic system. If the equipment is broken, they often won't notice or repair it in time," Duc said.

Moreover, many people are willing to risk running on tracks even when gates are down.

Tien Phong/Dtinews