Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Railway Safety Administration were adopted at the 28th Session of the Standing Committee of the 15th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on December 30, 2020, and are hereby promulgated. They shall be effective as of March 1, 2021.

Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress

December 30, 2020

Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Railway Safety Administration

(Adopted at the 28th Session of the Standing Committee of the 15th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on December 30,2020)

Chapter I  General Provisions

Article 1

With a view to strengthening the railway safety administration, ensuring the safety and smoothness of railway transportation, and protecting the personal and property safety, these Regulations are formulated according to the Railway Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on Railway Safety Administration, and other laws and administrative rules, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2

These Regulations apply to the safety administration activities of railways within the administrative area of this Municipality.

The railways mentioned in these Regulations include the national railways and the local railways.

Article 3

The railway safety administration of this Municipality shall adhere to the guideline of safety first, focus on prevention and comprehensive treatment, and establish and perfect an operational mechanism integrated with government’s overall planning, industry’s supervision, enterprises’ responsibility, coordinated administration and society’s joint treatment.

Article 4

The Municipal People’s Government and the district/town people’s governments along the railway line shall, according to their respective functions and duties, enhance the education on ensuring railway safety, implement a joint prevention responsibility system for the protection of railways, prevent and stop the acts endangering railway safety, coordinate and handle the relevant matters on the railway safety guarantee, and do well relevant work to ensure the railway safety.

Article 5

Shanghai railway supervisory administrative organ set up by the railway supervisory administrative department of the State Council (hereinafter referred to as SRAO) shall be responsible for the safety supervision and administration of railways within the administrative area of this Municipality. The municipal transportation administrative department shall be responsible for the specific work of local railway safety supervisory administration within the administrative area of this Municipality. The SRAO and the municipal transportation administrative department are jointly referred to as the railway safety supervisory administrative departments.

The departments of development & reform, planning and resources, housing and urban-rural development, emergency management, public security, economy and informatization, agriculture and rural affairs, landscaping and city appearance, and ecological environment, firefighting and rescue organs and radio administration institutions shall cooperate in implementing these Regulations according to their respective functions and duties.

Article 6

Railway development units and railway transportation enterprises shall perform the main-body responsibility for safe production, establish and perfect the management system of safe production, set up safety management teams or arrange safety management personnel, implement the relevant standards to ensure the production safety, strengthen the safety education and training for the employees, and ensure the funding necessary for safe production.

Article 7

Any unit or individual shall, when finding an act of damaging or illegally occupying railway facilities or equipment, railway signs, land used for a railway or other acts that influence the railway safety, have the right to report that to the railway transportation enterprise, or to the railway safety administrative department, the public security department or other relevant departments. The said enterprise or department that receives the report shall make prompt handling according to their respective functions and duties, and give a feedback of the relevant handling.

The unit or individual that has made an outstanding contribution to maintaining the railway safety shall be commended and rewarded according to relevant provisions of the State and this Municipality.

Article 8

This Municipality shall encourage the application of such modern information technology as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and big data in the aspects of safety information collection, safety monitoring, safety protection, risk warning, and emergency handling, so as to raise the intelligence level of railway safety administration.

This Municipality shall encourage the scientific and technological research in the field of railway safety, and accelerate the R & D, application and dissemination of new technologies, new techniques, new materials, and new equipment.

Article 9

The railway safety administrative departments, other relevant departments, and railway transportation enterprises shall enhance the publicity and education of railway safety, popularize the laws, rules and common sense of railway safety, raise the public’s awareness of railway safety, and jointly maintain the railway safety of this Municipality.

Chapter II  Construction Safety

Article 10

The municipal department of planning and resources shall, jointly with the municipal departments of development & reform, and housing and urban-rural development and the railway safety administrative departments, delimit the railway planning control line according to the national land spatial planning, the railway development planning, and the special planning for line selection.

No new construction, reconstruction or extension of buildings or structures without permission shall be allowed within the railway planning control line. In case of new construction, reconstruction or extension of buildings or structures within it, the planning and resources department shall solicit the opinion of the railway safety administrative department when making the examination and approval.

Article 11

The railway development unit shall, at the stage of feasibility study for a railway development project, appraise the risks of the construction project itself and its influence on the safety of the adjacent buildings, structures and other pipelines and facilities in the process of the project construction, and submit the appraisal for approval according to the development procedures.

The railway development unit shall take measures according to the appraisal report, so as to prevent and reduce the influence on the construction project itself and the adjacent buildings, structures and other pipelines and facilities and ensure their safety.

Article 12

The development, survey, design, construction, supervision and testing units of a railway construction project shall comply with the provisions of laws, rules and regulations on construction project quality and safety administration, and implement relevant standards and technical specifications.

Article 13

Where a newly-built or rebuilt railway intersects with such facilities as existing roads, rail traffic, aqueducts, channels and pipelines, or relevant newly-built or rebuilt facilities intersect with an existing railway, the development unit shall negotiate with the facility management unit or the railway transportation enterprise on the safety protection measures and provide each other with necessary convenience.

Article 14

When passing the acceptance check upon completion, a flyover crossing and its auxiliary safety facilities of a railway or road shall be transferred to a relevant unit for management and maintenance according to relevant provisions.

Where the relevant unit refuses to accept them or it is unable to determine the recipient unit, the municipal transportation administrative department shall coordinate in designating the recipient unit.

Article 15

Upon the completion of a railway construction project, the acceptance check shall be organized according to relevant provisions, and the railway transportation enterprise shall conduct the operation safety appraisal.

As for local railways, in addition to the acceptance check and appraisal as provided in the preceding Paragraph, the municipal transportation administrative department shall organize relevant departments and experts to make the identification, carry out the preliminary stage operation upon submitting it to and obtaining the approval of the Municipal People’s Government, and organize a third-party institution to make operation safety appraisal at the end of the preliminary stage operation.

A railway may be put into operation only after it has passed the acceptance check and appraisal, and has met the operation safety requirements.

Chapter III  Railway Line Safety

Article 16

Railway line safety protection areas shall be established on both sides of a railway line. The outward distance of a railway line protection area from the outer side of a railway line embankment slope toe, cutting slope or railway bridge (including a dual purpose bridge as a railway and a road, the same below) of a railway line safety protection area shall respectively be:

1. 10 meters for a high speed railway and 8 meters for other railways in the urban area of a city;

2. 12 meters for a high speed railway and 10 meters for other railways in residential areas of the suburban area of a city;

3. 15 meters for a high speed railway and 12 meters for other railways in a village/town residential area; and

4. 20 meters for a high speed railway and 15 meters for other railways in other areas.

Where a railway line is underground, the outward area within 50 meters from the underground station and the outer side of the tunnel outer line shall be included in the railway line safety protection area.

Where the distance provided in Paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article cannot satisfy the need of railway transportation safety protection, the railway development unit or the railway transportation enterprise shall put forward a plan, and the railway safety administrative department or the district people’s government shall delimit the area according to the procedures provided in Paragraph 4 of this Article.

Where a railway line safety protection area is delimited within the area of land used by a railway, the railway safety administrative department shall organize the railway development unit or the railway transportation enterprise to delimit the area and make an announcement thereof. Where a railway line safety protection area is delimited beyond the area of land used by a railway, the local district people’s government shall, according to the principle of ensuring railway transportation safety and saving land, organize relevant departments to delimit the area and make an announcement thereof.

The railway line safety protection area of a newly-built or rebuilt railway shall be delimited and announced by the local people’s government according to the provisions of Paragraph 3 and Paragraph 4 of this Article within 30 days upon the date when the preliminary design of the railway construction project is approved. The railway development unit or the railway transportation unit shall make the boundary survey according to the project completion materials, map the safety protection area plan of the railway line, and set up stakes and mark such contents as the safety protection area boundary and scope according to the plan.

Article 17

Where facility construction such as buildings and structures, earth borrowing, sand digging, ditching, holing, piling, pit construction, underground jacking, erection, hoisting, drilling, ground stabilization, or article stacking and hanging is necessary in a railway line safety protection area, the approval of the railway transportation enterprise or the railway development unit shall be obtained and a safety agreement shall be signed, the relevant standards to ensure railway safety and the specifications for engineering safety shall be observed, and the measures to prevent the influence on railway transportation safety shall be taken. The railway transportation enterprise or the railway development unit shall publicize such contents as the acceptance channel and handling procedures, relevant conditions and conclusion deadline. The railway transportation enterprise or the railway development unit shall assign personnel to conduct safety supervision on the construction site.

Where the activities in the preceding Paragraph are conducted within a local railway line safety protection area, the operation unit shall also submit in advance the operation plan to the municipal transportation administrative department for filing. The municipal transportation administrative department may organize relevant departments, third-party institutions and experts to conduct a technical appraisal on the operation plan, and give a feedback on the appraisal opinions to the operation unit and the railway transportation enterprise or the railway development unit.

Article 18

The buildings and structures illegally built within a railway line safety protection area shall be demolished by the party concerned; if the party concerned refuses to make the demolition, they shall be demolished according to law.

Where an existing building or structure within a railway line safety protection area endangers the railway transportation safety, necessary safety protection measures shall be taken; if the safety still cannot be ensured after the safety protection measures are taken, it shall be demolished according to law.

Where the demolition of a building or structure within a railway line safety protection area or the clearance of plants within the safety protection area, or the restriction of relevant legitimate rights and interests that have already been obtained by someone according to law within the safety protection area causes a loss, a compensation shall be given or necessary remedial measures shall be taken according to law, except for the demolition of buildings or structures built illegally.

Article 19

Where construction is conducted beyond the railway line safety protection area and the engineering construction machines may cross or touch the railway line, the construction unit shall take safety protection measures. If no safety protection measure is taken or the safety protection measure taken is unable to protect the safety of railway operation, the construction unit shall stop the construction immediately and take corresponding safety handling measures.

Article 20

It is forbidden to fly such low altitude floating objects as kites, balloons and kongming lanterns within the areas of 500 hundred meters from each side of the power line conductor of a railway.

It is forbidden for low altitude, slow speed, small aircraft such as unmanned aerial vehicles to fly within the area of 100 meters from each side of the power line conductor of a high speed railway or of 50 meters from each side of the power line conductor of a common railway; if the above flight is really needed for safety protection, emergency rescue, job-site surveys, construction operation, or meteorological observation, the relevant procedure shall be handled and safety protection measures shall be taken according to relevant provisions, and the railway transportation enterprise shall be notified in advance.

Article 21

As for such light objects as plastic-covered greenhouses, color steel tents, advertisement boards, and dust screens on each side of a railway line, the owner or the custodian shall take reinforcement and protection measures, and clear away the scattered materials like the plastic film, silver paper, color steel tiles, and iron sheets in a timely manner, so as to prevent them from endangering the railway safety in gale weather conditions.

Article 22

The railway transportation enterprise shall strengthen the patrol along the railway lines, and shall immediately notify the owner or the custodian if the patroller has found a pole, a chimney or a tree along the railway line having a risk of falling down or some light objects on either side of the railway line being in a case of endangering the railway safety. The owner or the custodian shall take measures in time to eliminate the potential safety hazard.

If the owner or the custodian refuses or neglects to handle that, the railway transportation enterprise shall report that to the administrative department of housing and urban-rural development or the administrative department of landscaping and city appearance, and the said departments shall coordinate the owner or the custodian to take measures to eliminate the potential safety hazard. In emergency cases, the railway transportation enterprise may take relevant measures first.

Article 23

The construction and establishment of sites or warehouses on either side of a railway line for producing, processing, storing or selling such dangerous articles as easy-fire-catching, easy-exploding or radioactive articles shall meet relevant standards on the distance for safety protection. The existing sites or warehouses that do not comply with the provisions on the distance for safety protection shall be rectified, or be switched to other products, stopped for production, relocated or shut down according to law.

Article 24

The district transportation administrative department or the railway transportation enterprise responsible for railway crossing management shall, according to the state provisions, set up warning signs and other safety protection facilities, strengthen the routine patrol and supervision, and ensure the safety of railway transportation.

Activities that affect the safety of railway transportation or pollute the environment along the railway line shall be forbidden in the area under a railway bridge.

Chapter IV  Operation Safety

Article 25

Railway transportation enterprises shall strengthen the safety protection in the process of transportation, and the specialized facilities and equipment used shall comply with relevant standards and safety requirements.

Railway transportation enterprises shall establish and perfect an inspection and protection system for railway facilities and equipment, strengthen the routine maintenance and repair of railway facilities and equipment, and ensure they are in good condition and safe operation.

Employees in railway transportation enterprises shall use and manage railway facilities and equipment according to the operation instruction.

Article 26

Railway transportation enterprises shall install security checking facilities and equipment according to the provisions, staff themselves with enough safety inspectors with professional training to match the transportation capacity, and conduct the security check to passengers and their carry-on and consigned luggage.

Passengers shall accept and cooperate in the security check by railway transportation enterprises, and shall not carry or carry secretly the controlled appliances illegally, or carry or consign such dangerous articles as fireworks, firecrackers, guns and ammunition, or other forbidden articles.

This Municipality shall promote the security check linkage of railways with aviation and rail traffic, so as to realize a convenient transfer service.

Article 27

It’s forbidden to conduct the following acts that endanger the railway safety:

1. entering without permission a closed region of a railway line or its other forbidden or restricted areas;

2. climbing or climbing over the wall, fence, platform or gate machine;

3. using articles causing the ringing of train smog alarm in a non-smoking area of a train;

4. affecting the train operation by means such as impeding the closing of train doors; and

5. other acts provided by laws and rules.

Article 28

Railway safety administrative departments and railway transportation enterprises shall, according to the provisions, formulate emergency response plans, and organize emergency drills; if a railway safety contingency occurs, they shall initiate the emergency plan according to the provisions, and do well the emergency disposal for railway safety. The emergency response plan shall dovetail with the relevant emergency response plan of the municipal and district people’s governments.

Railway safety supervision departments and railway transportation enterprises shall strengthen the cooperation with the departments of emergency management, public security, health, ecological environment, planning and resources, water affairs, and meteorology, and firefighting and rescue organs of this Municipality, and establish and perfect the warning information interconnection mechanism.

In peak periods of railway transportation such as legal holidays and traditional festivals or bad meteorological conditions, railway transportation enterprises shall strengthen the safety status inspection over the key links and important facilities and equipment of railway transportation, and take necessary safety emergency management measures, so as to ensure the transportation safety.

Railway transportation enterprises shall, according to the provisions, implement their principal responsibility for fire fighting, establish multiple forms of firefighting organizations, formulate and implement fire fighting systems, equip firefighting facilities and appliances, enhance the fire prevention inspection, carry out the fire fighting publicity and education, organize regular fire drills and ensure the fire safety of railways.

Article 29

Railway transportation enterprises shall, according to relevant provisions of the State and this Municipality, install standardized smart safety technology prevention systems in key areas along the railway line and key sites of railway stations, and connect them with the public security department.

Article 30

It is prohibited to use radio transmitters (stations) or other instrument or devices to interfere  the normal use of the radio frequency of railway operation command and dispatch.

In case the radio frequency of railway operation command and dispatch is interfered, the railway transportation enterprise shall take troubleshooting measures and report that to the municipal radio administrative organ and the railway safety administrative department immediately; the municipal radio administrative organ and the railway safety administrative department shall eliminate the interference according to law.

The municipal radio administrative organ shall strengthen the monitoring over the electromagnetic environment of the radio and the signal of radio transmitters (stations) along the railway, so as to ensure the normal use of the railway operation command and dispatch system.

Article 31

Where a public health and quarantine station is established in a railway station, the railway transportation enterprise shall cooperate. The establishment and operation of the public health and quarantine station shall reduce the impact on the operation of the railway station while meeting the need of emergency management.

Railway transportation enterprises shall strengthen the food safety administration for railway operation, observe the laws, rules and other relevant provisions on food safety administration, and ensure the food safety.

Chapter V  Joint Supervisory Administration and Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation

Article 32

The municipal transportation administrative department and SRAO shall establish a cooperation mechanism for railway safety administration.

The railway safety administrative department and the municipal department of housing and urban-rural development, and emergency management shall establish an information notification system, and a coordination mechanism for the safe production of transportation. The railway development unit and the railway transportation enterprise shall take measures to eliminate the potential safety hazards in time when finding them, and shall promptly report to the railway safety administrative department in the case of finding a serious potential safety hazard difficult to eliminate by themselves. Upon receiving the report, the railway safety administrative department shall handle it according to law; if it does not fall within its scope of duty, it shall transfer it to the relevant department in time.

The district/township people’s government along a railway line and the railway transportation enterprise shall, according to relevant provisions of the State and this Municipality, establish a two-section-chiefs work responsibility system for the comprehensive treatment of railway potential safety hazard.

Article 33

The municipal transportation administrative department shall establish a mechanism to coordinate the management and maintenance of railways and their adjacent traffic facilities and equipment, strengthen the coordination among maintenance units’ maintenance time and cycle, and raise the repair and maintenance efficiency of the facilities and equipment.

Article 34

The district/township people’s government along a railway line shall consolidate the joint prevention responsibility for railway protection, include the railway safety prevention into the local prevention system for social public security, and establish a joint prevention and control mechanism for the public security.

The railway public security department and the local public security department along the railway line shall establish and perfect the mechanisms for railway public security information sharing and joint law enforcement, and maintain the public security and order of the stations, trains and along the railway line jointly according to their respective functions and duties.

Article 35

At the peak period of railway transportation or under the condition of bad weather, the district people’s governments along a railway line shall strengthen the coordination with the railway transportation enterprise, organize the departments of public security, transportation, and emergency management and public traffic operation enterprises such as rail traffic, buses and trolleybuses to do a good job in the relief of traffic pressure.

Article 36

Railway transportation enterprises shall formulate plans for the prevention of and response to terrorist activities, strengthen the construction of technical and material prevention at the key facilities and sites of the railway, and implement the work responsibility system for antiterrorism according to law.

The public security department and other relevant departments and railway transportation enterprises shall strengthen the joint action and do a good job in the antiterrorism jointly.

Article 37

The railway safety administrative department shall establish a communication and cooperation mechanism for railway safety management jointly with relevant departments of relevant provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta region and relevant railway transportation enterprises, coordinate in an overall manner the major issues in the regional railway safety management, build a safety management system featuring information and resource sharing and joint action in the Yangtze River Delta region, and maintain a good railway safety environment and order jointly.

The municipal transportation administrative department shall consult with relevant departments of relevant provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Delta region and relevant railway transportation enterprises to push the coordination and unification of local cross-provincial and cross-city railways in the aspects of operation plans, security check standards, and guidance signs.

Chapter VI  Legal Liability

Article 38

Where laws or administrative rules have had provisions on handling the violations of these Regulations, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 39

Where anyone, in violation of the provision of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of these Regulations, has engaged in relevant activities within the railway line safety protection area without permission or without signing a safety agreement, or has violated the relevant standards and engineering safety specifications, which has affected the railway transportation safety, the railway safety administrative department shall order the violator to make a rectification and may impose a fine of not more than 100,000 yuan.

Where an operation unit, in violation of the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 17 of these Regulations, has not gone through the filing formalities as required, the railway safety administrative department shall order it to make a rectification and impose a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan.

Article 40

Where an construction unit, in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of these Regulations, has not stopped the construction or taken corresponding safety handling measures according to the provision, the railway safety administrative department shall order it to make a rectification and impose a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan.

Article 41

Where a unit or anyone, in violation of the provisions of Article 20 or Article 27 of these Regulations, has conducted an act endangering the railway safety, the public security department shall order it to make a rectification, and impose a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 50,000 yuan on the unit or a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 2,000 yuan on the individual.

Article 42

In any of the following cases, the relevant information shall be included into this Municipality’s Public Credit Information Service Platform:

1. being punished according to law for engaging in relevant activities without permission within the railway line safety protection area;

2. building or establishing sites or warehouses that produce, process, store or sell such dangerous articles as easy-fire-catching, easy-exploding or radioactive articles on either side of a railway line in violation of relevant provisions on safety protection distance; or

3. conducting other acts that seriously endanger the railway operation safety.

Article 43

Where the railway safety administrative department, other relevant departments and/or their staff members have an act of neglecting their duties, abusing their power, or practicing favoritism or irregularities for personal gains, the person-in-charge and other persons directly liable shall be subject to punishment according to law; if their wrongful act has constituted a crime, they shall be prosecuted for criminal liability according to law.

Chapter VII  Supplementary Provisions

Article 44

The safety management of special-purpose railways and railway special lines shall be implemented by reference to the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 45

The emergency rescue and investigation and handling of railway traffic accidents shall be implemented according to relevant provisions of the State.

Article 46

These Regulations shall be effective as of March 1, 2021.