VietNamNet Bridge – Railway safety has been put to the test as more fatal accidents have been reported along the north-south railway this year.

Illustrative image – Photo: citinews

Doan Duy Hoach, deputy general director of Vietnam Railway Corporation (VRC), told the Daily that VRC said in a report already sent to the Ministry of Transport that railway safety has been at stake as there have been more deadly accidents.

In the first four months of this year, 169 railway accidents left 67 people dead and 108 others injured, soaring 36.3%, 21.82% and 40,26% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Most of the accidents occurred at the crossroads between railways and roads. In the period, 78 vehicles collided with trains and people were killed in 17 of the accidents. These accidents also caused huge human and material losses.    

Hoach attributed more railway accidents to the negligence of vehicle drivers at the crossroads and the collision between a vehicle and a train in Xuan Loc District, Dong Nai Province earlier this month was a case in point. The vehicle ran into an incoming train despite the alarm had gone off.  

Warning devices and barriers have been installed at other crossroads between railway and road sections along the north-south railway but vehicles still try to cross though trains are approaching.

Some 5,000 crossroads have been illegally opened by local residents but VRC will gradually close them to ensure railway safety between now and 2020. The corporation has plans to build overpasses at the sites where the railways and highways intersect.

Asked about VRC’s scheme to improve technical standards for trains to reduce accidents, Hoach said there are always drivers on duty on locomotives and staff at crossroads to ensure safety. The most important thing is that car drivers and motorcycle riders should abide by traffic regulations as well.