Roads built illegally to cross railway tracks in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime MinisterTruong Hoa Binh has ordered urgent measures to increase safety at railwaycrossings.
His order came in the wake of a sharp spike inthe number and scale of railway accidents during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.
Deputy PM Binh, who also heads the NationalTraffic Safety Committee, sent a message to the Ministry of Transport, Ministryof Public Security, chairpersons of People’s Committees and heads of trafficsafety departments in provinces and cities that the railway runs through.
The message followed two severe railwayaccidents on February 4.
At 3.20pm on February 4, train TN1 running inthe North-South direction through Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province crashedinto a 16-seat car at a crossing, killing the car’s driver on the spot andinjuring five, two of them seriously and the rest three were released fromhospitals on February 5.
The same afternoon, three people were injured,one badly, when train LP5 running on the Hanoi-Hai Phong route hit a four-seatcar which was crossing the railroad in Hung Yen province’s Van Lam district.
Eight traffic accidents involving the railwaystook place during the seven-day Tet holiday, claiming six lives and injuring 11.This marked an increase of 60 percent in the number of accidents, 100 percentin fatalities and 175 percent of injuries over the previous Tết holiday.
According to the National Traffic SafetyCommittee, the main cause of railway accidents is that drivers of vehiclesdisobey the law at crossings.
It said provincial and municipal authorities, aswell as the Vietnam Railway Authority haven’t considered the problem seriousenough to issue instructions, carry out inspections and push for solutions.They have also been lax in determining and dealing strictly with thoseresponsible for railway crossing accidents, the committee said.
Deputy PM Binh has asked the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to instruct the VietnamRailway Authority to closely work with relevant authorities of the Ministry ofPublic Security, as well as Nam Dinh and Hung Yen provinces to investigate theaccidents on February 4 and affix responsibilities of organisations andindividuals involved.
He said the MoT should work with provincial andmunicipal authorities to propose solutions for ensuring safety at levelcrossings on the whole route, including the construction of front roads,setting up barriers, and clarify the responsibilities of bodies guardingcrossings throughout the route.
The ministry should continue updating detailedtimetables of trains running through crossings, particularly those in and nearresidential areas so that local traffic safety departments can assign guards,strengthen inspections and compliance with law at level-crossings, Binh said.
He asked the Ministry of Public Security toco-ordinate with police in localities to reinforce patrols and strictly dealwith violations, especially the illegal lifting of barriers.
The heads of provincial and municipaladministrations as well as the heads of local traffic safety departments mustdevelop concrete plans to eliminate illegally-established railway crossings,and appoint guards at crossings that do not have barriers, he said.-VNA
VNA
