The trains were on a collision course near the Dau Giay Railway Station in Dong Nai Province when they managed to pull to a full stop just ten meters from each other.
They were a SE25 passenger train heading from Quy Nhon City in south-central Vietnam toward Ho Chi Minh City and an ASY2 cargo train moving in the opposite direction, according to a source familiar with the event.
The 13-car SE25 train was poised to make a standard maneuver to avoid the ASY2 at the Dau Giay Station.
The rail traffic controller who was on duty on Tuesday morning was notified that the SE25 train had cleared Dau Giay at 5:59 am, the source said.
Realizing that it was on course for a collision with the oncoming cargo train, the controller immediately initiated emergency protocol to tell the engineers to pull the brakes.
The trains managed to pull to a full stop near the station, just ten meters from each other.
The incident resulted in delays for later trains, as Vietnam Railways promptly dispatched a delegation of officials to the scene for an investigation.
A railway official told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the incident was of “grave nature” and could have resulted in casualties had it not been responded to in time.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong has requested a full report of the near miss, adding that relevant agencies were working to determine who or what were at fault.
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