The Government promulgates Decree No. 81/2026/ND-CP stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of railway traffic. This Decree takes effect from May 15, 2026.
Decree No. 81/2026/ND-CP states: Abolishing Decree No. 100/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 of the Government stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of road and railway traffic (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 123/2021/ND-CP dated December 28, 2021 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decrees stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of maritime; road and railway traffic; civil aviation).
The new Decree also stipulates transitional clauses as follows:
In case administrative violations in the field of railway transport occur and end before the effective date of this Decree and are then detected or are being considered for resolution, the Decree currently in effect at the time of the violation shall be applied.
For administrative violations in the field of railway transport that occurred before the effective date of this Decree but are still taking place when this Decree has taken effect, the provisions of this Decree shall be applied.
Decree No. 81/2026/ND-CP consists of 4 chapters, 50 articles regulating administrative violations, forms of sanctions, levels of sanctions, remedial measures, sanctioning authority, and fines in the field of railway traffic.
Accordingly, the Decree stipulates a number of fines as follows:
A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on railway transport businesses and railway infrastructure business enterprises that commit one of the following violations:
Railway transport business enterprises that do not arrange people in charge of railway transport organization departments, people in charge of railway transport safety departments or arrange but do not meet the conditions according to regulations;
Railway infrastructure business enterprises do not arrange people in charge of professional departments managing and maintaining railway infrastructure, people in charge of railway transport operating departments, people in charge of railway traffic safety departments or arrange but do not meet the conditions according to regulations.
A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on railway transport businesses and railway infrastructure business enterprises that commit one of the following violations:
Railway transport business enterprises do not have railway transport organization departments or railway transport safety departments as prescribed.
Railway infrastructure business enterprises do not have specialized departments to manage and maintain railway infrastructure, railway transport operating departments, and departments in charge of railway traffic safety as prescribed.
A fine of 5 - 10 million VND shall be imposed on businesses that do not implement ticket price reductions or reduce ticket prices in violation of regulations.
Regarding violations of regulations on railway transport business, Article 36 of the Decree stipulates:
A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000 shall be imposed on enterprises directly engaged in railway transport business that commit one of the following violations:
Transporting bodies and remains against regulations;
Transporting live animals not in accordance with regulations;
Failure to list, announce, or publicize transportation prices at railway stations and publicly announce them in the mass media or on the website of railway transport business enterprises before the time of application;
Not notifying passengers of the remaining seats for trains selling tickets by electronic system as prescribed.
A fine of between VND 5,000 and VND 10,000 shall be imposed on railway transport businesses that do not implement ticket price reductions or implement ticket price reductions not in accordance with regulations.
A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on railway transport businesses that commit one of the following violations:
Failure to perform special transport and social security tasks as required by the head of a competent state management agency as prescribed;
Failure to properly implement regulations on transporting oversized and overweight goods;
Failure to properly implement regulations on loading, unloading, and transporting dangerous goods;
Not ensuring the minimum living conditions of passengers in case transportation is interrupted due to traffic accidents or natural disasters, enemy attacks;
Failure to comply with regulations on loading and reinforcing goods on carriages;
Not arranging enough staff to work on ships according to regulations;
Do not develop operating procedures for positions of staff working on ships as prescribed.
