Asian States Agree on
Integration of Railways

Uncertainties linger over implementation due to North Korean nuke issue

An international project to link railways in Asia has been pushed vigorously, but the North Korean section, a part of the proposed Trans Korea Railway (TKR), remains a stumbling bloc as the Stalinist regime's latest nuclear test has exacerbated uncertainties over the security in the Northeast Asian region.
Asian railway leaders from 13 countries, including China, India and Thailand, agreed on the integration of railways during the First Asia Railway Summit held in Seoul on October 16th. About 60 experts and CEOs of Asian railway operations got together for the event, organized by Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul.
In a statement, issued following the summit, the Asian countries concurred on the need for the construction of a unified Asian railway network with a view to laying a foundation of a logistics system with an competitive edge in Asia and raise competitiveness in the Asian region. Lee Chul, president of KORAIL, said,
"The countries discussed ways of sharing railway policies and technology and building up a cooperative network and decided to consider establishment of a training center for Asian railways with the ultimate goal of unifying Asian railways, including TKR."KORAIL President Lee said it was noteworthy that the so-called Seoul Declaration, the first of its kind, contained a consensus on the necessity of the Asian railway network and making concerted efforts to take necessary measures. The participating countries will discuss such ways of promoting cooperation as standardization of railway systems and unifying of operation systems during the next talks, he said.
North Korea's nuclear issue, particularly its claim over a nuclear test, apparently poses a stumbling bloc to the integration of Asian railways. However, the KORAIL president is still optimistic. "Even though projects to reconnect inter-Korean railways have been already completed, they have failed to be operational among the Koreas due to international circumstances and inter-Korean relations. However, the railways will be reconnected ultimately since they will bring benefits to concerned countries, including North Korea,"he said.
The concerned countries share the need for the integration of Asian railways, and in particular, Russia and China are scrambling for an entry into the railway market, Lee said. The Asian railway leaders agreed to make concerted efforts to link disconnected parts of railways, and the agreement is forecast to favorably influence North Korea's determination to reconnect the railways, he said.
In conjunction with the First Asian Railway Summit, KORAIL and UIC also organized the 9th UIC User-Producer Interaction Conference on Rolling Stock Technology held at COEX between October 17 and 19.
About 400 experts and high-level delegations involving in the railway operations and rolling stock management got together to discuss new trends and technologies of railway rolling stocks during the conference.
In parallel with the conference, an exhibition was held at the neighboring venue where audiences got a glimpse of the latest development of railway technologies of the world. Korea is the fifth operator of a high-speed train KTX (Korean Train eXpress).
UIC, established in 1922, is a worldwide organization for international cooperation among railways and promotion of the rail transportation mode. Its initial purpose was standardization and improvement of conditions of railway construction and operations, especially in view of international traffic. In 2005, a "New UIC"has been designed in order to cope with a series of new challenges, particularly railway liberalization, increasing competition from other modes, the growing economic constrains on railways together with the challenger of globalization of the transport market which creates new opportunities for railways. The UIC mission in 206 calls for promotion of rail transport at world level in order to meet challenges of mobility and sustainable development.
UIC, headquartered in Paris, groups 171 members (railways, rail operators, infrastructure managers, railway service providers, public transport companies, etc.) on all five continents. nw

Lee Chul, president of KORAIL, and other Asian railway leaders agree on the integration of railways during the First Asia Railway Summit held in Seoul on October 16th.