CIRCULAR

AMENDMENTS TO CIRCULAR NO. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT DATED MAY 14, 2018 OF THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT ON QUALITY, TECHNICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY INSPECTION OF RAILWAY VEHICLES AND CIRCULAR NO. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT DATED MAY 15, 2018 OF THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT ON ASSESSMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF URBAN RAILWAY SYSTEM SAFETY

Pursuant to the Law on Railway Transport dated June 16, 2017;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 12/2017/ND-CP dated February 10, 2017 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the request of the Director of the Department of Science and Technology and the Director General of the Vietnam Register;

The Minister of Transport hereby promulgates a Circular on amendments to Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 14, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on quality, technical and environmental safety inspection of railway vehicles and Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on assessment and certification of urban railway system safety.

Article 1. Amendments to Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 14, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on quality, technical and environmental safety inspection of railway vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “the Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT”)

1. Clause 1 of Article 5 is amended as follows:

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2. Article 6 is amended as follows:

“Article 6. Inspection of import

1. The inspection of import shall be intended for:

a) Imported brand new and imported used locomotives, cars and dedicated railways vehicles running on national railway and dedicated railways;

b) Imported brand new components, equipment and parts installed on vehicles running on national railway and dedicated railways;

c) Imported brand new urban railway cars; imported brand new and temporarily imported used dedicated vehicles running on urban railways.”

2. An application for inspection includes:

a) An application form for inspection, which is made by the importer using the Form in the Appendix 1 hereof;

b) An overall drawing, documents about specifications;

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d) A copy presented with its original for comparison or certified true copy of the certificate of quality issued by the manufacturer in the case of an imported brand new product;

d) A report on inspection and testing of the vehicle, its components, equipment or parts, which is prepared by the manufacturer or testing facility in the case of an imported brand new product.

3. Inspection contents:

a) Carrying out inspection according to applicable technical regulations;

b) Regarding end of train devices, carrying out inspection in accordance with the regulations laid down in the Appendix VII hereof.

4. Time of inspection:

a) Regarding imported brand new and imported used vehicles running on national railway and dedicated railways, imported brand new urban railway cars, imported brand new and temporarily imported used dedicated vehicles running on urban railways, the inspection shall be carried out after the importer has provided sufficient documents and the vehicle has been delivered to the inspecting authority; the importer shall satisfy the inspection conditions in accordance with applicable technical regulations;

b) Regarding components, equipment and parts installed on vehicles running on national railway and dedicated railways, the inspection shall be carried out before they are installed on the vehicles.

5. Inspection methods:

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b) Regarding parts, inspect representative samples of each shipment of parts according to relevant standards and technical regulations;

c) Regarding urban railway cars, inspect each car in the steady state and when assembled into a train according to the operation configuration following the contents and methods specified in applicable technical regulations.”

3. Article 7 is amended as follows:

“Article 7. Inspection of modification

1. Regulations on inspection of modification

a) The inspection of modification shall be intended for locomotives and cars running on national railway and dedicated railways vehicles in case of change of their body’s steel structure, functions, parameters, specifications of their systems, components or equipment;

b) The inspection of modification shall not cover vehicles whose end of train devices is changed and urban railway cars running on urban railways.”

2. An application for inspection includes:

a) An application form for inspection, which is made by the modifying establishment or vehicle owner using the Form in the Appendix I hereof;

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c) Copies presented with their originals for comparison of the certificate of origin, certificate of quality and relevant technical documentation of new components, equipment or parts used;

d) Self-inspection result, which is given by the modifying establishment or vehicle owner.

3. Inspection contents: carrying out inspection according to applicable technical regulations and design dossier.

4. Inspection methods: inspect each vehicle.”

4. Article 8 is amended as follows:

Article 8. Periodic inspection

1. The periodic inspection carried out during operation shall be intended for:

a) Locomotives, cars, dedicated railways vehicles and end of train devices running on national railway and dedicated railways;

b) Urban railway cars and dedicated vehicles running urban railways.

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a) An application form for periodic inspection, which is repair shop or vehicle owner using the Form in the Appendix I hereof;

b) A copy of the vehicle registration certificate (if the manufactured or assembled vehicle and imported vehicle undergoes periodic inspection for the first time or the vehicle registration number is changed);

c) Technical documentation of the components, equipment or systems to be replaced during the maintenance or repair;

d) Self-commissioning result, which is given by the repair shop or vehicle owner.

3. Frequency of periodic inspection:

a) The periodic inspection frequency is specified in the Appendix VI hereof;

b) Regarding national railway vehicles and urban railway cars, the periodic inspection shall be carried out together with their periodic maintenance and/or repair at certain levels but the frequency thereof shall not exceed that mentioned in the Appendix VI hereof.

4. Inspection contents:

a) Carrying out inspection of safety features according to applicable technical regulations;

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5. Inspection methods: inspect each vehicle or end of train device. Regarding urban railway cars, inspect each car in the steady state and when assembled into a train according to the operation configuration following the contents and methods specified in applicable technical regulations.”

5. Point c Clause 4 of Article 9 is amended as follows:

“c) Regarding urban railway cars, inspect each car in the steady state and when assembled into a train according to the operation configuration following the contents and methods specified in applicable technical regulations.”

6. Article 10 is amended as follows:

“Article 10. Issuance of certificate and inspection stamp

1. Every applicant shall submit an application prescribed in Articles 5, 6, 7 or 8 of this Circular to the Vietnam Register, whether in person, by post or another appropriate manner.

2. The Vietnam Register shall receive the application and inspect its adequacy within one (01) working day or within ten (10) working days in the case of the urban railway car. If the application is adequate, the Vietnam Register shall inspect its contents. If the application is not adequate, the Vietnam Register shall instruct the applicant to complete it.

3. The Vietnam Register shall inspect contents of the application within five (05) working days in the case of inspection of manufacture, assembly, import or modification and within one (01) working day in the case of periodic inspection; within thirty (30) working days in the case of the urban railway car. If contents are not satisfactory, notify the applicant within one (01) working day from the end of the content inspection. If contents are satisfactory, an appointment note specifying time and place of site inspection shall be issued.

4. A site inspection by the Vietnam Register shall be carried out as follows:

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b) If the inspection result is not satisfactory, request the Vietnam Register to issue a notice of failure to comply with quality, technical safety and environmental safety requirements using the Form in the Appendix V hereof within one (01) working day from the end of the inspection. If the vehicle is imported, this notice shall be sent to relevant authorities.”

7. Clause 2 of Article 13 is amended as follows:

“2. Effective period of the certificate and inspection stamp:

a) The effective period of the certificate and inspection stamp issued according to the inspection frequency is provided in the Appendix VI hereof;

b) The certificate will be invalidated if the actual specifications for the vehicle are not conformable with those on the issued certificate or the vehicle is broken due to an accident, disaster or act of damage or during its storage or transport in such a way that technical safety and environmental safety are not ensured as prescribed.”

8. Point dd is added to Clause 1 of Article 15 as follows:

“dd) Satisfy the inspection conditions in accordance with applicable technical regulations.”

9. Points c and d are added to Clause 2 of Article 15 as follows:

“c) Satisfy the inspection conditions in accordance with applicable technical regulations;

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10. Point dd is added to Clause 3 of Article 15 as follows:

“dd) Satisfy the inspection conditions in accordance with applicable technical regulations.”

11. The Appendix VI of the Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT is amended by the Appendix 1 of this Circular.

Article 2. Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT dated May 15, 2018 of the Minister of Transport on assessment and certification of urban railway system safety (hereinafter referred to as “the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT”)

1. Article 2 is amended as follows:

“Article 2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to organizations involved in management and operation of urban railways; assessment and certification of system safety; verification of system safety dossier for urban railway lines being newly constructed or upgraded; periodic certification of operation safety management system for urban railway lines during operation.”

2. Clauses 5 and 8 of Article 3 are amended as follows:

“5. “outline of assessment and certification of system safety objectives” (hereinafter referred to as “assessment and certification outline”) means a document prepared by the certification body at the request of an investor to describe tasks related to assessment and certification of system safety.

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3. Clause 13 of Article 3 is added as follows:

“13. “vehicles” refer to urban railway cars, excluding dedicated vehicles serving construction and maintenance of railway.”

4. Article 4 is amended as follows:

Article 4. General provisions on assessment and certification of system safety

1. A newly constructed urban railway shall be subject to assessment and certification of system safety by a certification body and issuance of certificate of verification of system safety dossier by the Vietnam Railway Authority before being put into operation.

2. An urban railway being upgraded shall be subject to assessment and certification of system safety by a certification body and issuance of certificate of verification of system safety dossier by the Vietnam Railway Authority. The items to be upgraded shall be subject to assessment and certification of system safety and verification of system safety dossier, including:

a) Change of train control information and signaling system;

b) Change of vehicle type;

c) Renovation of traction power supply system;

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dd) Change of organizational structure of an operating organization.

3. The outline of assessment and certification prepared by the certification body and approved by the investor must contain at least:

a) Scope of assessment and certification;

b) Methods and sequence;

c) Safety limits and risk acceptance criteria;

d) Plan to carry out assessment and certification;

dd) Transfer documents.”

5. Clause 1 of Article 5 is amended as follows:

“1. Every urban railway enterprise shall build and maintain a safety management system which is subject to periodic inspection and certification by the Vietnam Railway Authority during its operation.”

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Article 7. Contents of assessment and certification of system safety in case of upgrading

1. Regarding the items to be upgraded specified in Points a, b, c and dd Clause 2 Article hereof, follow the instructions below:

a) Assess reliability, availability, maintainability and safety of the items prescribed in Points a, b and c Clause 2 Article 4 hereof;

b) Assess system integration;

c) Assess system trial run after upgrading;

d) Assess operation safety management system.

2. In the case of change of the operating organization’s organizational structure, it is only required to assess the operation safety management system.”

7. Article 10 is amended as follows:

“Article 10. Regulations on application for verification

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a) An application form, which is made using the Form in the Appendix 1 hereof;

b) A legitimate copy of the assessment and certification outline and amended updates approved by the investor;

c) Assessment reports certified by the investor and legitimate copy of the certificate of system safety issued by the certification body.;

2. Time of submission: The application shall be submitted after the certification body completes the assessment dossier.

3. Method of submission: The investor shall submit the application in person or by post to the Vietnam Railway Authority.”

8. Article 11 is amended as follows:

“Article 11. Contents of verification

The verification of system safety dossier in case of construction and upgrading shall cover the following:

1. Inspection of validity and adequacy of the application specified in Clause 1 Article 10 of this Circular.

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3. Inspection of performance of the tasks prescribed in Article 6 hereof in the case of building a new railway line and Article 7 hereof in the case of upgrading an urban railway line.”

9. Article 12 is amended as follows:

“Article 12. Procedures for verification

1. The investor shall prepare an application as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 10 and submit it to the Vietnam Railway Authority, within three (03) working days, the Vietnam Railway Authority shall issue a notification of application according to the form in the Appendix 5 hereof; and send a copy of the application to the Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau and the Vietnam Register.

2. The Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau and the Vietnam Register shall carry out verification as prescribed in Article 11 of this Circular, twenty (20) working days after receiving the application, the Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau and the Vietnam Register shall send a notification of verification results according to the form in the Appendix 6 hereof to the Vietnam Railway Authority.

3. Within five (05) working days from the receipt of the notification of verification results, if the verification results are satisfactory, the Vietnam Railway Authority shall issue the certificate of verification of system safety dossier according to the form in the Appendix 3 hereof. If the verification results are unsatisfactory, the Vietnam Railway Authority shall consolidate verification results and send them to the investor for completion”.

10. Article 17 is amended as follows:

“Article 17. Responsibility for implementation

1. The Vietnam Railway Authority shall:

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b) consolidate verification reports of the Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau and Vietnam Register to issue certificates of verification;

c) carry out periodic inspection and certification of operation safety management system;

d) preside over making costs estimates and collecting fees for verification of system safety dossiers in the case of construction and upgrading and carrying out periodic inspection and certification of operation safety management system.

2. The Transport Engineering Construction and Quality Management Bureau shall:

a) verify system safety assessment reports of certification bodies with regard to the contents related to: overpass, road and tunnel design plans; works and equipment serving smoke control; send verification results to the Vietnam Railway Authority for consolidation;

b) cooperate with the Vietnam Railway Authority making estimates and collecting fees for verification of system safety assessment reports with respect to relevant contents in accordance with applicable regulations.

3. The Vietnam Railway Authority shall:

a) verify system safety assessment reports of certification bodies with respect to contents related to vehicles, excluding signaling systems installed on vehicles; send verification results to the Vietnam Railway Authority for consolidation;

b) cooperate with the Vietnam Railway Authority making estimates and collecting fees for verification of system safety assessment reports with respect to relevant contents in accordance with applicable regulations.”

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“Article 19. Responsibilities of investors

1. Select a certification body qualified for carrying out assessment and certification of system safety for urban railway lines.

2. Approve the assessment and certification outline prepared by the certification body.

3. Preside over and cooperate with the operating organization in building an operation safety management system for the newly constructed or upgraded urban railway line.

4. Formulate and complete the application for verification of system safety as prescribed in Article 10 hereof.

5. Compile a list of standards applicable to assessment and certification of system safety and submit it to the investment decision maker for approval as prescribed.

6. Preserve and archive all dossiers on assessment and certification of system safety as prescribed and transfer them to the operating organization when the urban railway line is put into operation.

7. Pay fees for verification of urban railway system safety dossiers as per the law.”

12. Clause 3 of Article 20 is amended as follows:

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13. Clause 2 of Article 21 is amended as follows:

“2. Follow the approved assessment and certification outline and the contents specified in Articles 6 and 7 hereof; be responsible to the law and investors for results of assessment and certification of system safety.”

14. Article 22 is amended as follows:

“Article 22. Transitional clause

1. For urban railway projects that were executed before the effective date of the Law on Railway Transport (July 01, 2018), the assessment and certification of system safety are not required. If the investor signs a contract for system safety assessment and certification, it is required to adhere to the regulations specified in the contract but not required to verify the system safety dossier.

2. For an urban railway project for which the construction contract is signed after the effective date of the Law on Railway Transport (July 01, 2018), the regulations set out in this Circular shall be adhered to.”

15. The Appendix 5 is added to the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT as prescribed in the Appendix 2 of this Circular.

16. The Appendix 6 is added to the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT as prescribed in the Appendix 3 of this Circular.

Article 3.

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2. Point c Clause 5 Article 5 of the Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT is annulled.

3. The phrase “Biên bản kiểm tra” (“Inspection record”) in the Appendix III and Appendix V of the Circular No. 29/2018/TT-BGTVT is replaced with “Báo cáo kiểm tra” (“Inspection report”).

4. Clause 3 Article 5 and Clauses 3 and 7 Article 6 of the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT are annulled.

5. The phrase “Cục Đăng kiểm Việt Nam” (“Vietnam Register”) in the following Clauses is replaced with “Cục Đường sắt Việt Nam” (“Vietnam Railway Authority”) Clause 4 Article 13; Clauses 1 and 2 Article 15; Appendix 3; Appendix 4 of the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT.

6. The phrase “hệ thống tín hiệu” (“signaling system”) in the following Clauses is replaced with “hệ thống thông tin - tín hiệu” (“information and signaling system”): Clause 1 Article 6 and Clause 4 Article 9 of the Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BGTVT.

Article 4. Effect

This Circular comes into force from January 29, 2021.

Article 5. Implementation

1. The Vietnam Railway Authority shall preside over and cooperate with relevant agencies and organizations in organizing the implementation of this Circular. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution.

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PP. THE MINISTER
THE DEPUTY MINISTER




Nguyen Ngoc Dong