Railway accidents increased during the first three months this year compared with the same period last year, according to Vietnam Railway under the Ministry of Transport.

A report showed that in the first three months, railway accidents occurred across the country, an increase of 30 compared with last year. These resulted in 37 deaths and 48 injuries.

Trains crashing into automobiles were responsible for 47 of the accidents, resulting in 14 fatalities.

Over 80 percent of the accidents happened on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route.

Residents said that drivers did not pay enough attention at level crossings. Most of the accidents occurred at illegal railway crossing, according to Doan Duy Hoach, Deputy Director of the company.

The drivers did not obey stop signs or control their speed while crossing the railway, he said.

Some other reasons included the shortage of warning signs and unsafe construction at the crossing.

The country has more than 5,700 railway crossings, 4,200 of which were illegal, according to the company's statistics.

Of the legal railway crossing, 86 percent are unsafe due to limited vision, steep slopes and proximity to residential areas and industrial zones.-VNA