1. Introduction
In the context of the sustainable development of Vietnam’s railway sector, safety and environmental protection play a key role in ensuring effective and eco-friendly railway operations. According to Nhân Dân Newspaper, the 2024 year-end report and 2025 key tasks plan of the Ministry of Transport states that the railway sector targets a reduction of 5% or more in all three railway accident criteria, with no particularly serious or extremely serious accidents; continuing the restructuring plan of the corporation until the end of 2025 according to the set schedule. This guideline provides comprehensive information on the latest 2025 regulations and measures.
2. Environmental Protection Regulations
2.1. Environmental Protection in the Railway Sector
The railway sector strictly complies with the Law on Environmental Protection and subordinate legal documents such as:
- Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14, effective from January 1, 2022.
- Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government detailing several articles of the Law on Environmental Protection.
- Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT dated January 10, 2022 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment detailing environmental impact assessment.
Content on technical safety and environmental protection inspection for railways: (Chapter II of Circular 01/2024/TT-BGTVT)
- Production and assembly inspection: Applied to new equipment and vehicles; manufacturers must fully prepare the necessary conditions. Inspection is based on national technical regulations. Inspection methods include the following: each piece of equipment, trial operation of urban rail cars, and sampling of axle-wheel sets.
- Import inspection: Applied to imported equipment and vehicles (new and used). Importing enterprises must prepare inspection conditions. Content and method are the same as production and assembly inspection.
- Modification inspection: Applied to vehicles with changes in structure, usage purpose, or technical equipment compared to the most recent inspection. Repair facilities must prepare the vehicle, inspection is based on modification content and corresponding standards. Each vehicle is inspected.
- Periodic inspection: Applied to all railway vehicles and train tail signal devices. Vehicle owners must prepare for inspection conditions. Conducted following the technical regulation and cycle stipulated in Appendix II of the Circular. Each vehicle is inspected, including static and dynamic checks for urban rail cars.
2.2. Environmental Standards and Regulations
Regulations in the Environmental Technical Regulation: (QCVN 15:2023/BGTVT)
- Diesel engines and sand exhaust systems: must meet emission standards, reduce dust and noise, and prevent environmental pollution.
- Air conditioning and ventilation systems: ensure clean air circulation, reduce toxic gas accumulation in carriages.
- Electrical converters, batteries, and electric traction motors: use energy-saving technologies and limit emissions.
- Electrical equipment and systems: must meet electrical safety requirements, reduce energy loss, and prevent pollution-causing leakage.
- Carriage leakage test and operational inspection: to prevent leakage of liquids and chemicals, ensure sealing to avoid environmental impact.
- Periodic and modification inspections: ensure that vehicles are maintained in a condition that does not negatively impact the environment.
3. Fire Prevention and Fighting System
3.1. Equipment and System Requirements
All railway facilities must be equipped with: (Article 22 of the 2024 Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue)
Prohibition signs, warning signs, and guidance signs are as prescribed.
Compliance with fire prevention and fighting requirements: During production, assembly, new construction, and vehicle modification, solutions and designs for fire prevention and fighting must be suitable for the nature and characteristics of the vehicle and meet the following requirements:
- Fire prevention and fire spread resistance solutions;
- Solutions ensuring fire safety for the energy, fuel supply systems, and engines;
- Systems and equipment to detect leakage of flammable, explosive gases or liquids;
- Fire prevention and firefighting vehicles, and systems.
Fire safety conditions as prescribed by railway law.
Vehicles subject to fire prevention design appraisal must have documents appraising the design and acceptance approval of fire prevention results by the specialized management agency.
Firefighting, rescue, and relief plans.
3.2. Compliance Procedure
Railway transport vehicles must ensure and maintain the following fire safety conditions: (Clause 2 Article 8 of Decree 136/2020/NĐ-CP, as amended by Clause 3 Article 1 of Decree 50/2024/NĐ-CP)
- Have internal rules, prohibition signs, warning signs, guidance signs in accordance with fire prevention and fighting standards or the Ministry of Public Security regulations
- The layout of electrical systems, fuel, materials, and goods on the vehicle must ensure fire safety
- Firefighting means suitable for operational characteristics, ensuring quantity and quality according to fire prevention and fighting standards or the Ministry of Public Security regulations
- Have regulations and task assignments for fire prevention and organize readiness to meet on-site firefighting requirements
- Have fire prevention design approval certificates or design appraisal documents (if any) and acceptance approval documents by the Police agency (if any)
- Have firefighting plans approved by the vehicle owner
4. Pollution Control
4.1. Monitoring and Measurement
The main content of the environmental audit for production, business, and service establishments includes: (Clause 2 Article 74 of the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection)
- Use of energy, chemicals, raw materials, and imported scrap as production inputs;
- Pollution control and waste management.
The pollution monitoring system includes:
Automatic, continuous air monitoring stations:
- Measure air quality parameters around stations, depots, and areas with railway operation or maintenance activities.
- Commonly measured parameters: PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure…
Noise and vibration measuring devices:
- Installed at locations near railways, residential areas to monitor impacts from train operations.
- Ensure noise and vibration levels do not exceed QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT (noise) and QCVN 27:2010/BTNMT (vibration) standards.
Wastewater monitoring systems:
- For stations, maintenance workshops, depots generating industrial or domestic wastewater.
- Includes automatic, continuous wastewater monitoring systems (according to Decree 08/2022/NĐ-CP if wastewater flow > 20m³/day-night).
- Measured parameters: COD, BOD5, TSS, pH, Ammonia, total Nitrogen, total Phosphorus, mineral oil and grease…
4.2. Mitigation Measures
Pollution mitigation measures include:
Air pollution mitigation:
- Use locomotives running on clean, low-emission fuels such as biodiesel, LNG (liquefied natural gas), or gradually shift to electric locomotives.
- Regularly maintain and check engine systems to ensure optimal combustion efficiency and limit emission of harmful gases such as CO, NOx, and SOx.
According to Giao Thông Newspaper, the railway industry is aiming to convert 100% of locomotives and carriages using diesel fuel to clean fuels or green energy by 2050 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment.
Noise and vibration mitigation:
- Install soundproof walls or noise barriers at sections passing through densely populated residential areas.
- Periodic maintenance of wheels, rails, shock absorbers to limit vibration and noise during operation.
Water pollution mitigation:
- Build and operate modern wastewater treatment systems at maintenance workshops, depots, stations to treat domestic wastewater and wastewater contaminated with oil and chemicals.
- Ensure treated water meets national technical standards (QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT or corresponding regulations).
5. Incident Response Procedures
5.1. Classification of Incidents
Environmental incidents are classified into:
Oil and chemical spill incidents
- These occur when oil or chemical transport trains or maintenance vehicles have accidents or leaks, causing hazardous substances to spill into the environment.
- They cause soil and water pollution and may threaten human health as well as flora and fauna.
Fire and explosion incidents
- These may result from train accidents, fuel leaks, or technical malfunctions in the locomotive/train electrical system.
- They cause significant property damage, threaten lives, and release toxic gases into the environment.
According to Thanh Niên Newspaper, at around 2:00 PM on April 6, 2024, freight train VNR D13E-722 suddenly caught fire in the driver’s cabin while passing through Trinh Xuyen Station, Lien Bao Commune, Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh Province. The train crew promptly made an emergency stop and detached the cabin from the rest of the train to prevent the fire from spreading to the cargo cars. Authorities dispatched two fire trucks to the scene and controlled the fire after about 50 minutes. The entire equipment in the cabin was destroyed, but fortunately, there were no casualties or damage to the cargo. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the fire.
Air and water pollution incidents
- These include situations such as excessive emissions from locomotives, untreated wastewater from depots or stations, or chemical leaks during maintenance activities.
- These incidents affect the air quality along the railway lines and the surface and groundwater resources.
5.2. Response Procedures
The standard response procedure includes:
Incident reporting and assessment
- As soon as an environmental incident (oil spill, fire, chemical leak, etc.) is detected, the relevant individual or organization must urgently report it to the operating unit and the competent authorities.
- At the same time, a preliminary assessment of the impact level, the extent of the spread, and the risk to the environment and public health must be conducted.
Implementing corrective measures
- Quick response measures should be taken to isolate the affected area and prevent the spread of pollutants.
- The incident must be handled according to an approved response plan (if any) or as instructed by environmental authorities.
- Appropriate response forces, vehicles, equipment, and materials must be mobilized.
Reporting and review
- After remediation, the involved unit must prepare a detailed report to the competent authority, clearly stating the cause, handling process, consequences, and environmental restoration measures (if any).
- A review should be conducted, and the response plan or internal procedures adjusted if necessary.
A real-life example illustrating this procedure is the oil spill incident in December 2023, when four iron ships ran aground near the central coast of Vietnam, posing an oil spill risk. According to Tuổi Trẻ Newspaper, localities such as Da Nang, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai urgently mobilized forces to handle the incident. The Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center was assigned to deal with three of the four stranded ships. The response process included timely reporting, implementing corrective measures such as isolating the affected area and mobilizing specialized forces, followed by preparing a detailed report and conducting a review to prevent similar incidents in the future.
6. Emergency Response System
6.1. Response Planning
Each unit must develop:
- Detailed response plan: Identify environmental incident scenarios (fires, chemical spills, pollution-causing accidents, etc.) and provide specific handling procedures.
- Coordination plan: Cooperate with infrastructure operators, rescue teams, environmental agencies, local authorities, etc., to ensure effective response.
- Emergency contact list: Compile phone numbers, emails, and contact points of related units, updated periodically.
6.2. Equipment and Resources
Minimum equipment requirements include:
- Personal protective equipment (PPE): such as gas masks, chemical-resistant gloves, flame-resistant clothing, etc.
- Specialized response vehicles: fire trucks, specialized oil spill response vehicles, mobile medical vehicles, etc.
- Incident response materials and chemicals: oil absorbents, acid/alkali neutralizers, anti-spill booms, hazardous waste bags, etc.
7. Conclusion
Strict compliance with safety and environmental protection regulations not only ensures the sustainable development of the railway sector but also contributes to protecting public health and the living environment. Units in the industry must regularly update and implement the latest measures to ensure the effectiveness of this work.
Important note: This article is for reference only. Businesses should consult official legal documents and expert advice from Harley Miller Law Firm for the most accurate information.
