Việt Nam Railway Authority will coordinate with Việt Nam Railways Cooperation (VNR) in planning to resume several commercial itineraries. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam Railway Authority has issued a document asking for feedback from localities on the resumption of railway transportation while ensuring COVID-19 safety.

According to Vũ Quang Khôi, Head of Việt Nam Railway Authority, due to the complex developments of the latest outbreak, commercial railway services were halted since late August in many localities enforcing stringent social distancing in line with Prime Minister’s Directive 16.

Strictly following the temporary guidelines on commercial railway transportation, Việt Nam Railway Authority will coordinate with Việt Nam Railways Cooperation (VNR) in planning to resume several commercial itineraries, which are Hà Nội – HCM City, Hà Nội – Hải Phòng, and Đà Nẵng – Sài Gòn.

Specifically, the Hà Nội – HCM City route will resume in phases, the first from October 7 to 17 with the SE7/SE8 train pair from October 7, and the SE5/SE6 pair from October 8. The second phase will take place from October 18 to 27 with the SE3/SE4 pair.

For the Hà Nội – Hải Phòng route, the first phase will begin from October 8 with the SP5/SP6 pair. The second phase will start from October 18 with the LP33/8 pair, with HP2/LP7 operating on weekends. The Hà Nội – Vinh route resuming from October 8 will operate on the NA1/2 train pair.

From October 15, the Đà Nẵng – HCM City route will resume with the SE21/SE22 pair. The Nha Trang – HCM City route will be back in operation from November 1 with the SNT1/2 pair, and Phan Thiết – HCM City with the SPT1/2 pair. 

From December 1 onwards, trains will resume operations in pairs. Several other routes including HCM City – Nha Trang and HCM City – Phan Thiết will also be scheduled depending on the demand.

Việt Nam Railway Authority also gave direction to VNR to coordinate with local authorities and Departments of Transport in planning for commercial transportation connecting roads and railways. 

Stations included in this temporary planning need to strictly follow safety measures against the pandemic. It is also forbidden to pick up and drop off passengers in stations not included in this plan.  

“VNR operations need to follow the guidelines stated in the temporary instruction and other measures to safely adapt to COVID-19, thus flexibly and effectively control the pandemic,” said Khôi.

Earlier on September 30, the Minister of Tranport issued a temporary instruction on resuming commercial railway transportation while ensuring safety measures against COVID-19, which introduced four levels of risk: low, average, high and very high. 

However, taking into consideration the COVID-19 situation in different localities and the common opinion of provincial People’s Committees, Việt Nam Railway Authority decided to resume commercial itineraries with trains operating in pairs. — VNS