Creating a legal corridor for the development of high-speed railways and urban railways

Amending the Law to create momentum for railway development

At the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Huy Hien, Deputy Director of Vietnam Railways Administration, said that Railway Law No. 06/2017/QH14 (Railway Law 2017) takes effect from July 1, 2018.

After more than 5 years of implementation, the 2017 Railway Law has been effective, clearly defining the role of the State in investing in railway infrastructure; mechanisms and preferential policies for organizations and individuals doing business and developing the railway industry; responsibilities of each agency in ensuring safety and order, managing infrastructure assets, etc.

At the workshop within the framework of the Aus4Transport program using non-refundable aid from the Australian Government, domestic and foreign experts shared experiences on policies for developing high-speed railways and urban railways.

However, in practice, there are still some shortcomings and inadequacies. Incentive policies in railway operations have not been regulated synchronously, leading to almost no implementation in practice; Capital mobilization for investment in railway infrastructure is still limited; Classification of railway infrastructure assets is not appropriate, leading to many difficulties in exploiting assets; There are no binding regulations on connecting railways with other modes of transport, connecting freight hubs.

There are no binding regulations on technology transfer, ordering mechanisms or assigning tasks to domestic organizations and enterprises to perform a number of strategic tasks, as a premise for developing the railway industry; Lack of mechanisms to shorten the construction time of urban railways and high-speed railways...

Railway is a mode of transport with advantages in terms of large volume, speed, safety and environmental friendliness. However, in the past, the priority of railway development has not received due attention, infrastructure is outdated, and investment resources have not met development requirements.

The results of the review of legal documents show that some regulations on railway transport are not yet consistent, leading to a lack of implementation in practice, a lack of specific regulations, and a lack of breakthrough mechanisms and policies for railway development.

Therefore, the development of the Railway Law (amended) is an urgent and necessary requirement to develop railway infrastructure, creating new space and new driving force for socio-economic development.

"Currently, the dossier proposing the construction of the Railway Law (amended) has been implemented by the Vietnam Railway Authority, the agency in charge of advising the Ministry of Transport, in accordance with regulations. Up to now, the Ministry of Transport has studied and fully absorbed the opinions of the Government Standing Committee, Government members, and opinions of ministries, branches, agencies, and organizations and is revising and completing the dossier," said Mr. Hien.

Applying international practical experience

In order to support the Vietnam Railway Authority in drafting the Law, the Aus4Transport Program, funded by the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), supports the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam with the project "International good practices to support the Vietnam Railway Authority in drafting the revised 2017 Railway Law".

The project will support the following contents: Actively using international good practices to draft the Railway Law (amended); Improving capacity to build institutions and legal regulations; Proactively orienting and establishing milestones for the transition to green energy in the railway sector.

Experts share experiences in investing, constructing and operating high-speed railways and urban railways in different countries (Photo: illustration).

The scope of the Project's activities includes: Surveying and researching the current situation in Vietnam, good international practices and making recommendations for policies on: High-speed railways; Urban railway development models and urban development models integrated with public transport (Transit-oriented Development - TOD) for urban railways; Adapting to climate change in the railway sector and managing railway vehicle safety.

At the same time, organize study tours abroad to learn about good international practices; organize seminars on research topics.

The thematic workshop is a component of the Project, taking place over two days, April 15 and 16, 2024, with three main topics: High-speed railway; Urban railway; Climate change.

At the workshop, domestic and international experts shared and discussed international experiences on the legal framework in the construction of high-speed railways, urban railways, TOD models, safety management and climate change issues, energy transition and electrification of the railway sector; focusing on investment, construction and business subjects. At the same time, recommendations were made in amending the Railway Law on these contents.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dong, former Deputy Minister of Transport, senior advisor of the Project, emphasized that the recommendations will be assessed and used in amending and supplementing the Railway Law in particular and legal documents in general related to railway development.

"The proposal to build the revised Railway Law this time has included assessments at different levels and has been reported to the Prime Minister. However, high-speed railway is a very new field, although it has been stipulated in the 2017 Railway Law but has not been implemented. Similarly, the urban railway sector has been invested in but has not been developed.

Therefore, it is necessary to have specific legal regulations and a legal corridor as a basis for developing high-speed railways and urban railways, from resource mobilization, investment, construction, to operation and ensuring safety associated with climate change. Evaluating and recognizing practical experiences of other countries, so that they can be applied to Vietnam's legal documents, thereby having a more complete legal corridor for developing railways in general, high-speed railways and urban railways in particular," said Mr. Dong.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/tao-hanh-lang-phap-ly-phat-trien-duong-sat-toc-do-cao-duong-sat-do-thi-19224041515095161.htm