On May 12, 2018, the Government issued Decree No.65/2018/ND-CP detailing the implementation a number of articles of Railway Law 2017. The Decree took effect since July 1, 2018.
Accordingly, Decree No.65/2018/ND-CP details the list of spare parts, supplies and equipment for railways, including 17 parts for rolling stock and 6 parts for railway infrastructure as well as the expiry date for means of transport on railway as follows:
1. For locomotives, passenger carriages operating on the main lines of national railway, special-use railway or urban railway: No more than 40 years;
2. For freight wagons running on main railway lines of national railway or special-use railway: No more than 45 years;
3. For used imported means of transport on railway: Only used vehicles of 10 years or less may be imported for passenger wagons, locomotives, urban railway wagons and shall not exceed 15 years for freight wagons.
The time for calculating the use duration of a means of transport on railway shall be counted from the time the newly-built means is granted the quality and technical safety certificate by the registry organization or the quality certificate of the manufacturer.
With the detailed and specific regulations, it can be seen that Decree No.65/2018/ND-CP aims to ensure the safety of means of transport on railway, avoiding the use of vehicles which have expired but still put into operation, causing unsafety to the railway.