3rd Korea Railways & Logistics
Fair Gets on Right Tack

132 exhibitors from 15 countries take parts in the fair

Global players flocked to Busan to participate in the Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2007, which took place at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) from May 16-19.
Organized by Messe Frankfurt Korea and BEXCO as a joint venture, Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2007 was also entitled the world's first exhibition officially supported by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
The third edition of Korea Railways and Logistics Fair once again proved itself as one of the predominant exhibitions in Asia, attracting 132 exhibitors from 15 countries in a 12,000 sq. meter floor space, as well as, more than 12,000 visitors including 490 international buyers.
Most significantly, on the second day of the fair, the fair ground was in a festive mood, since trains from North and South Korea crossed the Demilitarized Zone for the first time in half a century. The Gyeongui Line was reconnected 56 years since it was severed on June 12, 1951,
while the Donghae Line was reconnected for the first time since 1950.
"I hope reconnecting the severed vein between two Koreas will contribute to normalizing railway operation and logistical network linking the entire Korean Peninsular, and furthermore, to establishing a permanent peace framework,"commented Victor Polazhishnikov, director of JSC Russian Railways. "On a broader term, it would pave the way to begin on the Trans-Asian Railway network, by connecting the two cross-border lines to the Trans-Siberian Railway. In this regards, Russian Railways is now putting its strategic significance in attending this biennial fair in Busan. We will certainly join the fair again in 2009 with increased square meters."
Most of all, this year's event got on the right track as a complete railway industrial fair, by exhibiting not only railway parts and components, but also rolling stocks from leading domestic companies, including Rotem Company, Woojin Industrial Systems and Hankuk Fiber Glass.
Rotem showed the most advanced technologies including the DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) model for export to Ireland, and the Vancouver RAV EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) model for Canada. In particular, the design mock-up of KTX-II, Korean high-speed trains, which will be employed for the Honam High-speed railways from 2009, attracted most attentions from the industry and public alike.
Woojin displayed K-AGT, the world's 4th automated man-less operation LRV, which has been developed on the basis of the standard specifications for light rail vehicles issued by the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.
'Rotem had tried its utmost to enhance its marketing efficiency through participating in Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2007, and evaluates that it achieved satisfactory marketing result via exhibiting Ireland DMU and KTX-II design mock-ups developed by Korea's own technology, as well as, the successful 'Rotem Rolling-Stock Design Contest'prize-winning work presentation. Most of all, we promoted Rotem's world's highest-level of technology and safety to the industry domestically and internationally alike. We expect to meet the global demands successfully and expand the overseas market in the long-term possibilities, via attending this year's fair,"commented Yong-Wook Kim, General Manager of Total Rail Systems Business Management Team of Rotem Company.
A total of 45 international exhibitors were from 14 countries. including Germany, Russia, the UK, Italy, France, Austria, China, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, the US, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Thailand, to enter the Asian market.
"I was really surprised about the show, as it was organized very well and professional. The visitor level was excellent, and, of course, Rotem worked as a magnet to get the right people to the show,"commented Christoph Uhl, Marketing Manager of Voith Turbo GmbH from Germany, which exhibited hydrodynamic drives, coupling and braking systems for rail.
From Germany, Vossloh Fastening Systems also promoted its range of rail fasteners and engineering services, and Rail.One GmbH demonstrated its latest innovations in slab-track and sleepers, together with BWG, a leading partner for modern turnout systems and acknowledged specialist in the field of high speed on many international railway lines. Deuta-Werke exhibited speed monitoring components and systems, the SIL 4 SDU odometry platform for ETCS and cross-border traffic, as well as telematic solutions for computer-based train operation and modular board-event recorders.
Thales from Canada presented the high performance SelTrac Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) solutions for urban rail. In Korea, the advanced signaling technology with an application of radio data communication methodology has been trialed on KoRail's Bundang commuter line.
From the UK, Pandrol is stepping up for upcoming KTX Phase II project by offering the latest product "candrol SFC (Single Fast Clip) fastening system"which has already proved its advantages on high resilience and fast installations. Trelleborg exhibited rubber-to-metal bonded components which are used in every branch of engineering science, including primary and secondary springs, airsprings and suspension components for all types of bogies.
LINSINGER is an Austrian manufacturer of stationary milling machines and mobile rail-milling vehicles for re-profiling of the complete railhead. Beside the different rail-milling trains SF03 for railways and railway contractors, LINSINGER is also manufacturing a Rail-Milling Train SF 01 which will be delivered to Seoul Metro within 2007.
Lufthansa German Airlines promoted its recently-inaugurating route between Busan, South Korea and Munich, and run a short quiz competition at its booth during the fair, drawing one Economy Class roundtrip flight to Europe.
"Lufthansa is the first and only airline connecting Busan with direct flights to Europe, and its participation in the exhibitions would consolidate its position as the No.1 European carrier in the area and meet the growing demand from corporate customers while contributing to the economic development in the region with its service in Busan and the entire Gyeongsang province,"stated Tonidandel Leandro, General Manager in Busan.
Russian companies joined this year's fair on a large scale, accompanied by influential Russian media, including TVC-Russian TV which conducted in-depth news coverage on the growth of Korea's railway industry and the possibilities of business cooperation between the two countries hereafter.
Gennadiy I. Bessonov, Secretary General of the Coordinating Council on Trans-Siberian Transportation said, "Korea Railways & Logistics Fair 2007 has really proved to be the place where the most interesting matters of today's global transportation industry were brought up. It has shown how many resources there are to explore for the development of transportation links between countries and provided a great opportunity for discussions. I was glad to participate and certainly hope to visit the Korea Railway & Logistics Fair next time."
Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2007 was also distinguished by an extensive range of fringe programs such as the International Logistics Forum, managed by the Korea International Freight Forwarders Association. Various seminars were also held on the "Trans-Siberian railway container transportation,"the "RFID/USN Best Practice & Application Strategy in Logistics"(Korea Association of RFID/USN), and the "Urban Transit Maglev"(Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials) topics, all of which offered in-depth insights into the latest trends, subjects and innovations of the sector. nw

VIPs, including Korea Railroad President Lee Chul and Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Hur Nam-sik, are in attendance at the Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2007, organized by Messe Frakfurt Korea.

(From top photo) an inside view of the Korea Railways and Logistics Fair 2007. Prominent figures look around the exhibits.