Safety
The overall condition of railway infrastructure in Vietnam varies from poor to fair; most of the network remains in need of rehabilitation and upgrading, having received only temporary repair from damages suffered during decades of war. A joint Japanese-Vietnamese evaluation team found that the poor state of railway infrastructure was the fundamental cause for most railway accidents, of which the most common types are train crashes against vehicles and persons, especially at illegal level crossings; derailments caused by failure to decrease speed were also noted as a common cause of accidents.
The Vietnamese railway network is crossed by many roads in several crowded areas; as a result, accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians have occurred. In the first 10 months of 2009, 431 railway accidents reportedly took place throughout Vietnam, causing 166 casualties and injuring 319 people. A researcher from Villanova University noted "There are numerous safety issues with level crossings...usually, an accident occurs every day." Many rail bridges and tunnels have suffered deterioration since the 1970s, requiring trains passing over or through them to reduce speeds as low as 15 km/h (9.3 mph). In addition, the center of the country is subject to violent annual flooding and bridges are often swept away, causing lengthy closures.
Along with recent efforts aimed at infrastructure rehabilitation, the recent adoption of safety measures by Vietnam Railways has led to a decline in railway accidents. These measures include: public awareness campaigns on railway safety in the media; construction of fences and safety barriers at critical level crossings in major cities; mobilization of volunteers for traffic control at train stations and level crossings, especially during holiday seasons; the installation of additional auto-signal systems; and the construction of flyovers and underpasses to redirect traffic.
Read more about this topic: Rail Transport In Vietnam
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