Prevent spontaneous crossings, raise awareness to "cool down" railway accidents

Persistent challenges

One of the biggest risks to railway safety is the situation of people opening their own paths. These are "black spots" that pose a risk of serious railway accidents.

In Hanoi , one of the areas with a dense railway network, there are currently 6 railway lines passing through with about 450 intersections, including hundreds of illegal crossings opened by people. Although there has been strong direction from Decision No. 358 of the Prime Minister requiring the elimination of all illegal crossings before the end of 2025, the actual progress of implementation is still not as expected. The reality recorded along the North-South route through Hanoi shows that the situation of people illegally opening crossings across railways is still happening. Just over 1.2km of railway through Van Dien town alone, there are dozens of illegal crossings. This area is also one of the "hot spots" where railway accidents occur.

However, thoroughly handling illegal crossings still faces many difficulties. Up to now, Hanoi has only fenced off more than 70 crossings and built about 2km of service roads and protective fences. The biggest obstacles are the lack of land, funding and site clearance for the construction of service roads. Closing self-opened crossings, such as the 5 hot spots in Van Dien town on June 17, 2025, is only a temporary solution while waiting for service road projects to be implemented. Director of the Vietnam Railway Authority, Mr. Tran Thien Canh, emphasized that in order to fundamentally solve the risk of railway accidents, it is necessary to quickly arrange capital to build level crossings, underpasses, and service roads for people, and at the same time guide people to move to the right places, not to illegally cross the railway.

Another cause of railway accidents is the disregard for warning signals. There are still many cases of deliberately ignoring warning signals at official crossings. Vietnam Railways Corporation has repeatedly warned that cases of vehicles ignoring warning signals and deliberately crossing railway barriers are still complicated, threatening train safety and the lives of traffic participants. Violations of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety and the Railway Law, especially at automatic warning level crossings with automatic barriers, tend to increase. The main cause is that people are subjective, deliberately crossing the barriers or crossing the tracks when a train is approaching. In the first 8 months of this year, the entire railway system recorded 201 cases of cars and motorbikes violating signals at level crossings with automatic barriers and guarded barriers. Although the number of incidents has decreased after railway units and authorities increased inspection, supervision, thorough handling, high deterrence and media propaganda, the risk still remains.

Prevent spontaneous crossings, raise awareness to — Improving railway safety must come from people's awareness.

Strictly implement regulations

Faced with the complex situation of accidents, Circular 25/2018/TT-BGTVT plays an important legal foundation role in establishing strict traffic rules in the area of railway crossings. This Circular provides detailed regulations on railway crossings and grants permits for the construction of essential works within the land area reserved for railways. Circular 25/2018 requires road traffic participants when crossing railway crossings to comply with the Railway Law, the Road Traffic Law and strict regulations such as: Road traffic participants must give priority to vehicles operating on railways; Strictly comply with stop signals when there is a stop signal with a signal light (red light flashing); It is strictly forbidden for people who are not on duty to arbitrarily open the railway crossing barrier when the barrier is closed; For level crossings with signs, road users must stop before the stop line, listen to the train whistle, pay attention to trains coming from a distance on both sides, and may only cross when they are sure there is no railway vehicle approaching, and must take full responsibility if an accident occurs.

The Circular also has specific regulations on behavior at level crossings, such as not being allowed to turn around, stop, or park within the area between the two “Stop” lines. In particular, if the vehicle is damaged and cannot be moved immediately, the driver must find a way to move the vehicle out of this area. Even people leading animals across the level crossing must strictly comply.

According to experts, to prevent unfortunate tragedies, raising awareness and complying with the law is key. Traffic participants need to strictly comply: Always stop and wait for the train to pass when the warning signal is on and the barrier is down. Always be alert and pay attention when crossing the railway level crossing and corridor, and do not be subjective.

“In addition, localities need to strengthen coordination in managing people's openings to prevent spontaneous openings, in order to eliminate the risk of accidents from the root. Strict compliance with regulations is not only a legal responsibility but also an act to protect one's own life and the general safety of the entire national railway traffic system. The railway is like a rushing river, and the level crossings are bridges. If you deliberately cross the river when the water is high, regardless of flood warning signals (horns, lights, barriers), accidents are inevitable,” emphasized traffic expert Le Trung Hieu.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Giao-thong/ngan-chan-loi-di-tu-phat-nang-cao-y-thuc-de-ha-nhiet-tai-nan-duong-sat-i787787/