Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Weaknesses of the railway sector and orientationsfor its development were mentioned by National Assembly (NA) deputies whilegrilling Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The on June 4.
The, who was the first Cabinet member interpellated by legislators inthe NA’s 5th session, highlighted the significant role of the railwaysystems, especially the North-South route in transport sector, adding that thesmooth operation of the system will help ease pressure on road transport.
However, he acknowledged that the current North-South railway is very backward,with some sections built 70-80 years ago without upgrading.
The minister admitted the sector’s shortcomings in its role as advisorfor the government and in improving the quality of railway systems.
Currently, there are 5,719 crossings between roads and railway routesnationwide, of which only 1,519 crossings are arranged by the Vietnam RailwayCorporation (VNR), while 4,200 others are opened by the community with highrisk of incidents despite warning signs, he noted.
The also added that many people have still ignored traffic rules whilecrossing the railways, leading to accidents.
The Ministry of Transport directed the VNR to hold teleconferences with citiesand provinces to deal with problems related to railway transport, whilecommitting with the localities on applying measures to ensure traffic safety atcrossings with the railway systems.
Along with designing urgent measures to ensure safety of railwaytransport, the ministry is also working on a project to build a North-Southhigh-speed railway, which will be submitted to the NA soon, The said.
Regarding the railway project submitted to the NA eight years ago, whichhas not been approved, he proposed thatthe NA gives directions and policies for railway projects, thus speeding up theapproval and implementation of the projects, including the North-Southrailway.-VNA
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