Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized this point at a meeting on the draft Law on Railways (amended) on the afternoon of February 11th.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the draft law must identify core contents that are comprehensive, visionary, and oriented for the next 50-100 years; it must definitively abandon the mindset of "if you can't manage it, ban it; if you don't know, manage it anyway"; and it should not include overly specific or technical content.
Therefore, a fundamental change in railway management thinking is needed, one that is comprehensive, synchronized, advanced, and meets the development requirements of the railway industry in the present and future. The process of drafting and finalizing the Law should involve drawing on the experience of investment methods, technology, and management from countries that have developed railways for hundreds of years, as well as those that have established high-speed rail networks in just a few decades.
The scope, content, and purpose of the Draft Law need to encompass and meet the long-term development requirements of the railway system, as well as the policies, mechanisms, and regulations on railways that are currently being developed and implemented.
Clearly define the scope and avoid overlapping with related laws.
According to the report at the meeting, the draft Railway Law (amended) consists of 8 chapters and 74 articles; a reduction of 2 chapters and 11 articles compared to the 2017 Railway Law.
Regarding some major adjustments and additions, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that the draft Law adds regulations on investment in the construction of regional and intra-provincial railways to mobilize local resources for the development of railway infrastructure and regulates the management, maintenance, and operation of these types of railways; exploiting land in the vicinity of railway stations to develop urban areas and commercial services... in order to open up new space for economic development and create resources from land exploitation, optimizing travel needs.
The draft law stipulates the investment in the construction of technical infrastructure connecting with railway projects and for shared use with railways in order to effectively utilize railway infrastructure; it requires binding connections between railways and major urban centers, seaports, airports, and connections between railways and public passenger transport in urban centers to consolidate and distribute passengers.
The draft law also stipulates: Mechanisms for implementing investment in construction, management, and operation of railway lines to accelerate project progress and improve the efficiency of exploiting railway infrastructure assets; commissioning and assigning tasks to domestic organizations and enterprises to carry out some strategic tasks as a prerequisite for the development of the railway industry; binding agreements on technology transfer and human resource training for Vietnamese partners to master management, operation, exploitation, and maintenance; and specific incentives and support for organizations and individuals carrying out scientific and technological tasks serving the development of the railway industry.
Meanwhile, some regulations already stipulated in other laws related to railway operations need to be removed from the Law to ensure consistency and uniformity in the legal system, such as regulations on: transport of live animals, passenger and baggage transport contracts and transport contracts; management and use of revenue from fees, rental prices or time-limited transfers of railway infrastructure assets invested by the State.
In the draft Law, some regulations are still highly technical and specialized, falling outside the authority of the National Assembly. Therefore, adjustments are needed to empower the Government and the Minister of Transport to regulate these provisions, such as: technical requirements for railway stations, job titles for railway personnel directly involved in train operations, railway traffic rules, railway transport management, train schedules, etc., to ensure flexibility in the application of legal regulations.
Furthermore, some provisions in the chapter on urban railways and high-speed railways overlap in content, lack clarity, and require further study and revision to ensure suitability.
Opinions suggest that the draft law needs to clearly define its scope of application, while also reviewing and avoiding overlaps with related laws (bidding, public asset management, land, budget, science and technology, etc.) when addressing difficulties and obstacles in the railway sector; it should only stipulate principles, which will be detailed in sub-laws such as decrees and circulars; it should focus on railway transport operations and railway safety; and it should ensure consistency between railway planning and national, regional, and local planning.
According to Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoang Oanh, the draft law has promoted and clearly defined the decentralization and delegation of power from the Prime Minister to the Minister, and from the central government to local authorities, which will resolve many obstacles in the development of national railway infrastructure, specialized railways, and local railways.
Ensuring the overall coherence and consistency of the railway system.
Concluding the working session, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stated that the amended Railway Law must inherit and learn from the experiences of countries with developed railway industries, institutionalizing mechanisms and policies to help the construction, operation, and management of the country's railway system serve socio-economic development and national security and defense in the best, most efficient, and safest way.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the amended Railway Law must clearly define the scope, content, and overarching objectives throughout the entire process, from strategic planning and development to construction, operation, infrastructure management, maintenance, and upkeep. It must also clearly distinguish itself from general obstacles related to attracting investment and specific policy mechanisms concerning capital and land, which have already been regulated and adjusted in specialized laws and legal documents.
"The law needs to clarify which areas are managed uniformly at the national level and which issues are decentralized to local authorities. It must ensure the synchronicity and overall coherence of the national railway system, connecting with the international network, between localities, and with other modes of transport," the Deputy Prime Minister stated, adding that along with planning tools, the roles and responsibilities of the Government, ministries, localities, and businesses need to be clearly defined.
The law needs to include regulations on the principles for developing railway infrastructure systems (safety corridors, stations, supporting systems, etc.), and then specify and detail them in subordinate legal documents.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the management of national railways, urban railways, and specialized railways must be unified.
Emphasizing the importance of railway safety, the Deputy Prime Minister proposed clearly defining responsibilities in planning and developing infrastructure, signaling systems, and the responsibilities of participating entities… and further specifying them through technical standards and regulations; while also establishing forces, mechanisms, and policies to protect railway infrastructure.
The Deputy Prime Minister also gave his opinion on regulations for enterprises managing, operating, exploiting, trading, maintaining, and repairing railways, emphasizing the need to consider the specific characteristics of the railway sector; differentiating between high-speed rail and urban rail, and specialized rail; and outlining the development orientation of the railway industry (technology, human resource training, etc.).
Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/thay-doi-co-ban-tu-duy-quan-ly-nganh-duong-sat-386534.html
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