Quyết định 214/QD-TTg

DECISION

APPROVING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR VIETNAM’S RAILWAY TRANSPORT UP TO 2020 WITH A VISION TOWARD 2050

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 14, 2005 Railway Law;

At the proposal of the Minister of Transport,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve adjustments to the development strategy for Vietnam’s railway transport up to 2020 with a vision toward 2050, with the following principal contents:

I. DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINTS

1. The railway transport development strategy must be in line with the strategy for national socio-economic development and the strategy for transport development up to 2020, and have a vision toward 2050 suitable to specific characteristics of the sector.

2. Railway transport constitutes an important part in the socio-economic infrastructure system, is the type of transport mainly for handling cargo of large volume on long and medium hauls, passengers on long and inter-provincial routes and mass transit in large cities; plays the key role in transporting passengers on the North-South axis and cargo and passengers on the East-West axis and has the outstanding advantage of mass transit as well, which should be prioritized for development investment.

3. Railway transport shall be developed in suitable steps, effectively exploiting existing railroads. At the same time, research shall be conducted into investment in building modem railroads closely linked with major seaports in each region and with other modes of transport.

4. Railway transport development shall be associated with urban development, security and defense maintenance, environmental protection and social order and safety assurance, and contribute to minimizing traffic congestion and accidents and promoting development of remote, deep-lying and difficulty-hit areas.

5. The State shall concentrate investment on the development of national railway infrastructure and concurrently attach importance to the maintenance of existing infrastructure, ensuring efficient, uninterrupted, orderly and safe exploitation. To quickly develop railway transport in urban centers and inner-city and suburban areas serving as the core for mass transit, first of all in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

6. To encourage all economic sectors and mobilize to the utmost every resource to invest in the development of railway infrastructure, vehicles and transport business under planning and in accordance with law, ensuring uniform and centralized management of railway transport activities.

7. To step up the development of railway science and technology and human resources and increase international cooperation for quick industrialization and modernization of railway transport.

8. To build the railway industry in line with Vietnam’s industrial development orientations toward assembling and manufacturing locomotives, carriages, parts, components and other equipment to better meet domestic demands and for export in the long run.

9. To rationally reserve land to develop railway transport infrastructure and establish safe railway traffic corridors in accordance with the Railway Law while saving land for rice cultivation, special-use forests and protection forests, environmental protection, green growth and response to climate change and sea level rise.

II. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

1. Objectives

To develop the railway transport system synchronous in infrastructure, organization of management of transport operation, industry and services at a high level; to ensure uninterrupted, orderly, safe, precise, quick, convenient and efficient railway transport operations serving as a momentum to boost socio-economic development and national industrialization and modernization and meeting regional and international integration requirements, and ensure national defense, security and environmental protection.

2. Targets

a/ To 2020:

- Railway transport market share: To reach around l%-2% of the passenger transport market and l%-3% of the cargo transport market; and around 4%-5% of the urban passenger transport market in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- Network and infrastructure development:

+ For existing railway network:

To concentrate investment on upgrading existing railroads, prioritizing the upgrading and modernization of the North-South railroad for passenger trains to run at an average speed of 80-90 km/hour and for cargo trains to run at an average speed of 50-60 km/hour; to raise the transport capacity and quality of and improve and upgrade Yen Vien-Lao Cai, Gia Lam-Hai Phong, Hanoi-Thai Nguyen and Hanoi-Lang Son railroads.

To concentrate investment on, upgrade and improve key railway stations, and stations with large numbers of passengers; to step by step eliminate level crossings between roads and railway lines, to prioritize investment in building crossings at different levels at traffic-heavy intersections.

+ For new railway construction:

To study a plan to build an electrified 1,435 mm dual-gauge high-speed railroad on the North-South axis, preparing necessary conditions to prioritize firstly the construction of sections of high transport demand, especially those between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City such as Hanoi-Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City-Nha Trang sections. To put into operation Yen Vien-Pha Lai-Ha Long-Cai Lan railroad. To study plans to build new Hanoi-Lao Cai, Hanoi- Hai Phong, Hanoi-Dong Dang, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Sai Gon-Can Tho and Hai Phong-Lach Huyen railroads, railroads linking to large seaports, industrial parks and tourist sites, railroads linking Central Highlands provinces to seaports, Vung Ang-Cha Lo (Mu Gia) railroad for connection with the railroad in Lao at Tha Khet, Di An-Loc Ninh railroad linked to the trans- Asia railroad; to prioritize investment in routes of high transport demand under planning and according to the fundraising capacity.

+ For urban railway development: To accelerate the implementation of urban railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

+ For railway industry: To concentrate on developing products; building modem and comfortable carriages of diversified types for domestic use and export. To manufacture parts and components and assemble modem locomotives.

b/ From 2020 to 2030:

- Railway transport market share: To reach 3%-4% of the passenger transport market and 4%-5% of the cargo transport market; and around 15%-20% of the urban passenger transport market in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- Network and infrastructure development:

+ To effectively exploit existing railroads; to eliminate level crossings between roads and railway lines. To build the electrified 1,435 mm dual-gauge high-speed railroad (firstly for trains to run at a speed of between 160 km/hour and under 200 km/hour) with infrastructure capable of accommodating trains running at a speed of 350 km/hour in the future, prioritizing the construction of sections of high transport demand on the North-South axis according to the fundraising capacity. To study and build railroads of high transport demand, railroads linking to large seaports, industrial parks and tourist sites, prioritizing Hanoi-Lao Cai, Hanoi-Hai Phong, Hanoi-Dong Dang, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho, and Hai Phong-Lach Huyen railroads, Central Highlands railroads, Di An-Loc Ninh railroad linked to the trans-Asia railroad, and a number of key sections in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City under planning and according to the funding capacity.

- Urban railway development: To continue building and put into operation urban railroad projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- Railway industry: To invest in modern technological lines for industrial establishments manufacturing locomotives, carriages, tracks and substitute parts and components up to regional standards. The railway industry must play the leading role and establish joint ventures with industrial establishments nationwide to assemble and manufacture locomotives and carriages and provide overhaul and repair at different levels to meet operation demands.

c/ Vision toward 2050:

- Railway transport market share: To reach at least 5%-8% of the passenger transport market and 5%-6% of the cargo transport market; and over 30% of the urban passenger transport market in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- Network and infrastructure development:

+ To strive to complete the entire 1,435 mm dual-gauge high-speed railroad on the North- South axis; after 2050 to operate express trains with a speed of 350 km/hour; to modernize existing railroads to mainly meet the demand for transport of local passengers and cargo; to complete the construction of the Central Highlands railroad, trans-Asia railroad and railroads linking to industrial parks and large seaports.

+ Urban railway development: To complete the network of urban railroads in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to invest in the development of urban railway systems in other major cities under approved planning.

- Railway industry: To develop modern industrial establishments manufacturing locomotives, carriages, tracks and substitute parts and components. To assemble and manufacture locomotives and carriages to meet domestic and export demands.

III. POLICIES AND SOLUTIONS

1. Strengthening state management

- To adjust the railway transport development master plan in conformity with the railway transport development strategy and national socio-economic development strategy.

- To elaborate, amend, supplement and complete the system of legal documents, standards and technical regulations, processes, norms, unit price norms, etc., in the railway sector.

- To restructure the railway sector under plans approved by the Prime Minister.

- To increase coordination among ministries, sectors and localities in implementing railway strategies and master plans, reserving land for railway development and ensuring railway traffic order and safety.

2. Fund raising

- To proactively allocate state budget funds; to prioritize ODA funds, concessional loans of foreign governments and international donors (Asia Development Bank’s OCR (Ordinary Capital Resources); World Bank’s IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) etc.); to issue government bonds and corporate bonds for investment in the construction of national key and essential railroads and urban railroads.

- To create and introduce particular mechanisms to encourage all economic sectors to invest in railway transport infrastructure development and railway transport business under build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts, build-transfer (BT) contracts and public private partnership (PPP).

- To create mechanisms to exploit land from projects, especially urban railway projects and railway stations, in order to raise investment capital for developing national railway infrastructure for railroads and railway sections with exploitation advantages under planning and management of the State.

- To boost socialization in railway transport business; to strongly attract economic sectors, including foreign investors, to investment in vehicles and transport support facilities (warehouses, storage yards, loading and unloading vehicles, etc.).

- To adopt mechanisms to support railway industrial establishments in importing modem technological lines of developed countries under the State’s key engineering program to assemble locomotives and manufacture carriages and railway parts and components, to step by step replace outdated, energy-intensive and low-capacity carriages.

3. Human resource development

- To rationally invest in human resources training and development. To develop policies to encourage and attract qualified specialists to work in the railway transport sector, especially in high-speed rail.

- To increasingly invest in physical and technical foundations, to renew training programs and increase forms of training; to attach importance to socialization in training, ensuring sufficient qualified human resources to meet modem railway development requirements.

- To adopt wage and preferential treatment policies for employees of the railway sector suitable to its specific conditions, particularly in deep-lying, remote and difficulty-hit areas.

- To establish research institutions for railway training and in-depth research, to invest in upgrading railway vocational schools capable of training human resources meeting railway development requirements.

- To prioritize quotas for railway training overseas.

4. Science and technology

- To adopt policies to encourage scientific and technological research and application of scientific and technological achievements; to apply new scientific and technological achievements to transport training and exploitation, infrastructure construction and maintenance, industry and services. To attach particular importance to applying information technology to plan the exploitation, collection and processing of customer information; to develop an automatic ticket selling and control system, to promote quality control work and standardization of industrial products up to national technical regulations of Vietnam and other international standards (ISO, UIC, etc.).

- To develop policies to encourage cooperation in research and transfer of foreign advanced railway technologies, especially in high-speed rail.

5. International cooperation

To expand international cooperation relations with countries with a developed railway industry, learning experiences on railway investment and advanced management and exploitation; to cooperate in training human resources to be able to receive and transfer new, advanced and modem technologies to promptly meet domestic development requirements and expand markets to the region and the world in the future.

6. Transport development

- To encourage organizations and individuals from various economic sectors to participate in transport business and transport support services.

- To develop a system of prices and charges as an instrument for macro-regulation of and orientation for rational development of railway transport.

- To develop railway transport and railway transport support services, ensuring quality, rapidity, safety, convenience and social cost saving. To strongly develop multimodal transport and logistic services in cargo transport.

- To associate railway transport business with non-railway transport business (malls, trade centers, etc.) in railway stations to create utmost convenience for passengers.

- To increase quality management and inspection of railway vehicles and services, particularly for passenger transport. To develop customer protection organizations and associations.

7. Railway industry development

To develop policies to encourage and create all conditions for railway industrial enterprises to expand joint ventures and partnerships at home and abroad to raise funds, transfer technology, exchange management and administration experiences and localize according to a roadmap the assembly and manufacture of locomotives, carriages and railway equipment and parts. To concurrently encourage other industries nationwide to participate in the railway industrial production chain, particularly support engineering industries.

8. Railway traffic safety assurance

- To actively implement the Prime Minister-approved plan on restoration of railway safety corridor order.

- To accelerate investment in improving and upgrading the infrastructure system, ensuring safety corridors and tackling black spots along railroads, etc., to strive to reduce the annual numbers of railway accidents and casualties.

- To raise the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education in combination with severely punishing acts of infringing upon railway traffic safety corridors.

- To increase rescue and salvage work to reduce damage caused by railway traffic accidents.

9. Environmental protection and sustainable development

- To step by step control, prevent and limit environmental pollution due to railway transport activities, especially treating waste. To increase energy efficiency and quickly develop urban railway systems in big cities under planning.

- To build capacity for the railway traffic infrastructure system to adapt to climate change and sea level rise.

- To increase application of energy-efficient technologies and vehicles; to apply clean fuels, renewable energies and other alternative energies in railway transport activities.

Article 2. Organization of implementation

- The Ministry of Transport

+ To manage and direct the implementation of the development strategy for Vietnam’s railway transport up to 2020 with a vision toward 2050. To elaborate and approve or submit to competent authorities for approval master plans and plans in conformity with this Strategy.

+ In the course of implementation of this Strategy, to study to be-updated and supplemented contents, if any, and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance

To allocate state budget funds for railway infrastructure development investment; to study and promulgate incentive mechanisms and policies to raise and efficiently use capital for railway development investment.

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in, formulating regulations on management and use of land reserved for railways and land within the railway traffic safety corridors, and protection of railway land.

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in, completing the law on logistic services; to manage the manufacture, building and import of railway vehicles under regulations; to study and develop electricity supply plans, ensuring stable supply for electrified railroads and information and signal systems.

- The Ministry of Education and Training

To coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in developing and renewing training programs meeting human resource development requirements and creating favorable conditions and reserving quotas for railway training at home and abroad.

- The Ministry of Science and Technology

To coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in studying and testing new technologies and materials; and promulgating standards on efficient energy use for railway vehicles.

- People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities where railroads run through

To proactively reserve land for railway transport development under strategies and planning. To maintain traffic security, order and safety and provide public information to raise people’s sense of observing law and protecting railway works.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect on the date of signing and replaces Decision No. 1686/QD-TTg of November 20, 2008, approving the development strategy for Vietnam’s railway transport up to 2020 with a vision toward 2050.

Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related units shall implement this Decision.-