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On September 26, 2022, China’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) made public the 2022 Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Railway Transportation Safety of Dangerous Goods (hereinafter referred to as the 2022 Provisions), which will come into force on December 1 of 2022 to replace its 2015 version.
Background
In recent years, China has successively released the revised Work Safety Law, Anti-Terrorism Law Regulation on Emergency Responses to Work Safety Accidents, and other relevant laws and regulations to fundamentally address the safety issues surrounding hazardous chemicals. The railway transportation of dangerous goods (DG) is certainly an important part of this cause.The Provisions on the Supervision and Administration of Railway Transportation Safety of Dangerous Goods was enacted in 2015 and needed a comprehensive revision according to the new situations in practice during its implementation. In late 2020, a draft revision was issued for public comments (CL news). The MoT approved the amendments and published the 2022 Provisions in late September 2022, aiming to improve the safety supervision and management of railway transportation of dangerous goods and strengthen law enforcement.
Compared with the 2020 draft revision, the 2022 Provisions stipulates more comprehensive and stricter safety management requirements for the transportation of dangerous goods (TDG), covering consignment, inspection, packaging, loading and unloading, transportation process monitoring, emergency management, etc.
Highlights
Application scope
The 2022 Provisions applies to DG in the List of Dangerous Goods for Railway Transport*. For goods that are not on the list but can be recognized as dangerous goods as per relevant laws, regulations and standards (e.g., GB 6944-2012 Classification and code of dangerous goods), they shall also be regulated under the 2022 Provisions.
*The last version of the List of Dangerous Goods for Railway Transport was issued in 2009. Accompanying the publication of the 2022 Provisions, this list was revised and published on Oct. 25 2022 (TB/T 30006-2022).
Exemptions
Some DG can be exempted from the 2022 Provisions if they fall under any of the followings:
The DG are part of railway vehicles or containers in accordance with relevant provisions for railway transport equipment and facilities.
The DG are devices and equipment for the purpose of monitoring or emergency handling transported goods.
The DG, are transported with safety measures taken, and their quantity, packaging, loading, etc. meet the corresponding technical requirements as per special provisions in the List of Dangerous Goods for Railway Transportation,
The DG that are designated by the China State Railway Group and to be transported for the purpose of national security and public interest in case of emergency.
More comprehensive and stricter safety management requirements
Adding requirements for shippers, covering protection measures, information conveyance, waybill filling, emergency response, etc., to strengthen the source management;
Adding requirements for railway transportation enterprises to sign safety agreements with relevant units for TDG, and clarifying responsibilities of all parties to ensure transport safety;
Adding requirements for the monitoring and IT-enabled management of transport facilities to ensure the whole process of the TDG can be monitored and traced; and
Adding requirements for establishing training programs for dangerous goods transport companies, as well as requirements for relevant personnel training; etc.
