Safety on the line for railway system in stagnation crisis

Vu Anh Minh, chairman of Vietnam Railways

There are different ideas in Vietnam about how much state funding should be allocated for railway maintenance this year, which is causing difficulties for the industry as a whole. Has the government announced any solutions yet?

As expected, the deputy prime minister of Vietnam will host a meeting in early May to deal with this problem. We are pinning high hopes on this.

Each unit and organ has different ideas stemming from their own aspects of management. Former Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has thus assigned the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to appraise the proposals of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and Vietnam Railways (VNR).

The MoJ is a government agency, which is responsible for legal development and enforcement, and check legal performance so we totally believe and respect for appraisal.

After working with the relevant ministries and agencies, the MoJ then reported back to the former DPM that based on the prevailing rules, especially the Law on Railway Transport 2017, and to ensure efficiency and transparency in the management, operation, and use of national railway infrastructure, the allocation of railway maintenance funding to VNR is reasonable.

The DPM then asked the MoT to take into account the opinions of the MoJ. The MoT has then sent the report to him. We are currently waiting for the next direction of the prime minister.

While waiting for sturdy solutions on the matter, what have VNR and its member companies been doing in order to ease the hardship for labourers?

As we have not received the allocated state funding for maintenance since the beginning of this year, our labourers are facing extreme difficulties.

In recent months, many units in the railway industry here mortgaged some of the company’s and even their own assets to take out bank loans so they can advance a small amount of money for their workers.

However, by the end of April, most of them were unable to keep up payments due to their small charter capital. There are about 20 companies in the railway industry focusing on maintenance, traffic safety, and railway signals, with charter capital of about VND20 billion ($870,000) and 500-1,000 employees each.

What I am most concerned about however is railway safety. Currently, safety in the industry in Vietnam depends mostly on the individuals. When labourers’ lives are not ensured, the safety risks increase.

The railway industry now consists of a huge number of partners and customers. How will the stagnation of train operations impact them?

The apatite, cement, and petroleum industries as well as post are our biggest partners. Chemical businesses will be among the worst hit because they have some products which cannot be transported as effectively by other means. If the trains stop, they will simply have to choose other means of transport.

Railway also transports special items for the military, ensuring national security and defence. At the same time, Vietnam Railways is an important link for the Asia-Europe railway chain, and any stagnation will influence businesses operating along this line.

For the passenger transport segment, the industry now serves 36 cities and provinces.

State funding for railway maintenance only meets 30-40 per cent of the industry’s total demand, leading to many items waiting for their due upgrade for years, posing significant hazards.