Most of the railway traffic safety projects under Decision 994 have not been implemented.
The Ministry of Transport has just reported to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on the implementation of Decision No. 994/2014 of the Prime Minister on ensuring road and railway traffic safety.
The Ministry of Transport said that in the period from 2014 to 2020, due to capital difficulties, the state budget was not allocated for projects such as: compensation for clearance of railway safety corridors; marking railway traffic safety corridors; building service roads and fences separating roads and railways; building road bridges separate from railway bridges; building bridges on national highways over national railways. Therefore, most railway traffic safety projects under Decision 994 have not been implemented.
From 2015 to 2023, the state budget has allocated more than 1,600 billion VND to renovate and upgrade level crossings (Photo: Automatic warning level crossing with automatic barriers).
Regarding projects to upgrade, renovate and repair level crossings, from 2015 to 2023, the budget for upgrading and renovating level crossings is 1,634 billion VND. Of which, in 2015 it was 170 billion VND; in 2017 it was 110 billion VND; in 2018 it was 170 billion VND; in 2019 it was 480 billion VND; in 2022 it was 304 billion VND; in 2023 it was 400 billion VND.
From this funding source, 1,060 level crossings have been completed. Specifically, 226 level crossings out of 291 level crossings that violated the level crossing regulations have been upgraded, renovated, and repaired as directed by the Prime Minister. During the process of upgrading and renovating level crossings according to Decision 994, the remaining 65 level crossings have been invested in and built with various sources of capital.
At the same time, 452 protected level crossings with signs have been upgraded and renovated into automatic warning level crossings (CBTĐ) with automatic barriers and level crossings with guards; 382/566 level crossings have been completed with a budget of 600 billion VND.
For the remaining 184 level crossings, the Ministry of Transport has reported to the Prime Minister for permission to extend the implementation period of the Plan to restore order in the railway traffic safety corridor according to Decision No. 994 (Plan) until the end of 2025 and to arrange funds to continue to complete the repair and supplement of the information and signal systems in the Plan.
Prioritize funding to ensure railway safety
According to the Ministry of Transport, railway construction items that have not been implemented according to Decision 994 have also been approved by the Prime Minister to be added to the Project to ensure order in traffic safety corridors and to completely handle self-opened paths across railways according to Decision No. 358/2020.
The Ministry of Transport recommends prioritizing capital allocation to ensure railway safety (Photo: illustration)
Therefore, to ensure continued effective implementation of the work of restoring order to the railway safety corridor in the 2021-2025 period, the Ministry of Transport recommends that Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha issue a directive or telegram of the Prime Minister requesting ministries, branches and localities to focus on effectively implementing the Project.
Regarding implementation costs, it is recommended that localities with railways passing through prioritize funding from local budgets to build service roads and fences to eliminate self-opened paths across railways in the area or from the central budget allocated to localities according to each project approved by competent authorities.
Regarding the repair and complete addition of the information and signal systems of the remaining 184 out of 566 manned level crossings as directed by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Transport has reported and recommended to the Prime Minister.
"Direct the Ministry of Finance to perform the assigned tasks in Decision 358; prioritize the allocation of capital for railway economic activities in 2024 and the following years to continue upgrading, renovating, repairing and fully equipping information and signal systems at intersections between roads and railways to ensure convenience for travel and ensure people's safety; allocate funds from the central budget to support localities according to each project approved by competent authorities to eliminate self-opened paths across railways according to regulations", the Ministry of Transport also recommended to the Deputy Prime Minister.
New regulations on railway crossingsSource
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