On July 30, 2026, the Ministry of Construction issued Circular No. 62/2026/TT-BXD, promulgating the National Technical Regulation QCVN 32:2026/BXD on Urban Railway – Metro. The Regulation will take effect on February 1, 2027, providing a unified technical basis for the planning, investment, design, construction, acceptance, operation, and exploitation of metro systems in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s First National Technical Regulation Specifically Dedicated to Metro
QCVN 32:2026/BXD is officially titled “National Technical Regulation on Urban Railway – Metro.” It was prepared by the Vietnam Railway Authority and appraised prior to its promulgation by the Minister of Construction. The Regulation applies to organizations and individuals involved in the management, construction investment, operation, and exploitation of urban railway systems of the metro type in Vietnam.
Under the Regulation, a metro is a type of urban railway serving passenger transportation within urban areas and their surrounding regions. Its principal design characteristics include a transport capacity of at least 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (PHPDT), a design axle load ranging from 14 to 17 tonnes, and a design speed of up to 120 km/h.
Approaching Metro as an Integrated System
One notable feature of QCVN 32:2026/BXD is that the Regulation does not merely establish separate requirements for individual infrastructure components, but approaches metro as an integrated transportation system.
The Regulation requires network planning to take into account connectivity and interoperability between lines, distinguishing between technical interoperability and through-line interoperability. The location of stations and interchange stations must be consistent with passenger demand and integrated with the overall urban transportation system.
For metro lines, the Regulation specifies the use of the standard 1,435 mm gauge, electrification, double-track main lines, and right-hand train operation. Lines must be designed to meet transport demand, connectivity requirements, and the operational requirements of the network as a whole.
New Requirements for Operations and System Integration
QCVN 32:2026/BXD sets out relatively comprehensive requirements for metro technical systems, including Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), Automatic Train Control (ATC), Automatic Train Operation (ATO), Automatic Train Protection (ATP), Automatic Train Supervision (ATS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Operations Control Centre (OCC), Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), Automatic Fare Collection (AFC), and Grades of Automation (GoA).
Of particular note, the Regulation defines five levels of automation, from GoA0 to GoA4, with GoA4 representing unattended train operation. At this level, the system must be capable of detecting and responding to dangerous and emergency situations and supporting passenger evacuation, while allowing intervention by OCC dispatching personnel or station staff when necessary.
The Regulation also requires information, signalling, traction power supply, and AFC systems to comply with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements before being put into service. Subsystems must be designed with appropriate interfaces to ensure system integration and meet the operational requirements of the entire line.
Stricter Requirements for Testing, Safety, and Operational Readiness
An important requirement for new metro projects is the need for trial operation before commercial operation begins.
Under the Regulation, newly constructed lines must undergo trial operation without passengers and under loaded conditions corresponding to the design load, design service frequency, and the number of operating hours per day. The minimum trial-operation period is 90 days or as decided by the Project Owner, but in no case less than 5,000 km. Testing must include individual system testing, integrated testing between systems, and testing of the operational conditions of the entire line.
QCVN 32:2026/BXD also requires newly constructed or upgraded metro lines to undergo system safety assessment and certification before being put into operation in accordance with the Law on Railways. The Regulation also encourages the involvement of system safety consultants and operational-readiness consultants from the project preparation stage.
Stray Current Protection Requirements to Be Considered from the FS Stage
A notable design requirement is the assessment of the potential impact of stray current from the Feasibility Study (FS) stage.
Where the study identifies a potential risk of impact, the project must adopt a comprehensive and unified stray-current protection strategy for the entire line and carry out integrated inspection and acceptance. Protected assets include rails, reinforced-concrete structures, buried metallic structures, metallic pipeline systems, telecommunications and signalling systems, power supply systems, and other metallic components potentially subject to stray-current effects.
Transitional Provisions for Projects Under Implementation
Circular No. 62/2026/TT-BXD contains notable transitional provisions. For urban railway projects approved before the effective date of the Circular, construction investment shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the regulations applicable at the time of project approval.
Where a project is subsequently adjusted, the investment decision-maker may decide not to apply, to partially apply, or to fully apply QCVN 32:2026/BXD when approving the adjustment. For lines that have already been put into operation before the Regulation takes effect, its application will also be considered on the basis of compatibility and integration with the existing system.
An Important Technical Basis for the Next Phase of Metro Development
The issuance of QCVN 32:2026/BXD comes at a time when Vietnam is accelerating the development of urban railway networks in major cities. The Regulation is expected to establish a unified technical framework, reduce inconsistencies in design bases among projects, and facilitate the integration of different lines within the same network.
In particular, the requirements concerning network connectivity, system integration, system safety, trial operation, automation, electromagnetic compatibility, and operational readiness demonstrate that the preparation of future metro projects needs to adopt a system-level approach from the planning and feasibility-study stages, rather than focusing solely on individual construction components.
QCVN 32:2026/BXD will take effect on February 1, 2027. It will constitute one of the important technical bases for the preparation and implementation of new metro projects in Vietnam in the coming period.
Editorial Board – TECCO1