Minister Tran Hong Minh calls for urgent review and systematization of railway standards

At a meeting on July 29, regarding the application of technical standards to railway projects, Minister Minh tasked the Department of Science, Technology, Environment and building Materials to coordinate with related agencies to classify railways into three categories: urban railways, conventional railways (under 200 km/h), and high-speed railways (200–400 km/h).

Minister Tran Hong Minh has requested an urgent review, compilation, and consolidation of the railway standards system for submission to the Government by August 10.

Based on this classification, they are to compile all existing applicable standards—both Vietnamese (TCVN) and permissible international ones—while clearly categorizing them (infrastructure, signaling, rolling stock, operational safety, etc.) and assessing their applicability to each type of railway.

The Department of Science, Technology, Environment and building Materials will draft a comprehensive report for the Ministry of Science and Technology to appraise and present to the Prime Minister by August 10.

Deputy Minister Pham Minh Ha emphasized that for complex technologies unfamiliar to Vietnam—like high-speed rail—technological appraisal should precede project evaluation. Once the technology is defined, the appropriate standards can then be selected.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Danh Huy added that identifying key technical parameters is essential. From there, consultants can choose suitable technologies and propose applicable standards.

He also affirmed that, according to the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, both national and foreign standards may be applied, provided they are compatible with the selected technology.

Hải Ninh