Korean Railway Industry Puts
More Energy into Developing
Next-Generation Railway Systems

Korea observes the 108th anniversary of Railway Day

The government plans to continue to make investments into the development of advanced railway systems, including a next-generation high-speed railway with a maximum speed of 400 km per hour and Korean-type tilting train.
It will set aside 789 billion won this year to raise to 51 percent the process of constructing the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) High-speed Railway Phase II, to be opened by 2010.
In 2009, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MOCT) will launch a project to build the Honam High-speed Railway.
The MOCT unveiled the current status and future directions of developing the domestic railway industry on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of Railway Day, which fell on Sept. 18.
The MOCT said it has launched a project to develop a next-generation high-speed railway with a maximum speed of 400 km per hour this past July. A test-run on the Korean-type tilting railway was conducted on this past April.
In his speech during the anniversary day ceremony, Vice Minister of Construction and Transportation Lee Choon-hee said he expressed his ministry's strong determination to advance the railway industry and strengthen its competitiveness. He reflected on the achievements of the MOCT's major policies and praised relevant industry people's dedication to the development of the domestic railway industry in celebration of the 108th anniversary of Railway Day.
Vice Minister of Construction and Transportation Lee was among about 500 people in the railway industry who participated in the anniversary Railway Day ceremony, held at the Kim Koo Museum & Library on Sept. 18.
During the ceremony, the Order of Industrial Merit, Bronze Tower, went to Chun Chul-soo, chief of the Management Support Division of Korea Rail Network Authority, while Choi Duk-ryul, chief of the strategic planning team at Korea Rail Road Corp., was presented with the Order of Industrial Merit, Stone Tower. The two were among the 14 people who were awarded with diverse orders, medals and citations in recognition of their contribution to the development of the domestic railway industry. One hundred and twenty-eight people and organizations were presented with the minister of construction and transportation award.
In an interview with NewsWorld, Choi Jae-do, director general for railway at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, stressed the need for exploring foreign railway construction and railway train/carriage markets.
Korea marked the 108th anniversary since the opening of the 33 km-long Gyeongin (Jaemulpo-Noryangjin) Railway Line on Sept. 18, 1899. Currently, the nation has a combined 3,382 km-long railway, of which 40 percent are double-tracked or 53 percent are electrified.
The government has been putting more energy into making investments into constructing high-speed railways and making railways double-tracked or electrified. In 2004, Korea became the fifth country in the world to open a high-speed railway, dubbed "korea Train eXpress (KTX).
The railway network takes a 20 percent share in the passenger transportation sector and a 6 percent share in the freight transportation field. The railway network has witnessed its long-haul passenger transportation share surging since the opening of the KTX in 2004.
Korea Railway Corp has seen its performance improving since its establishment in 2005 under the restructuring of the railway industry. Korea Railway Corp." competitive edge has been improving on a continuous basis with the occurrence of railway accidents declining from 616 cases in 2004 to 314 in 2006.
In a historic development of inter-Korean railway history, South and North Korean trails test-run on the reconnected parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae Lines on May 17, as part of efforts to ensure peace between South and North Korea as well as improve inter-Korean exchanges.
Korea Railroad Research Institute organized a seminar, titled "Korea-Brazil High-speed Railway International Cooperation"in cooperation of Korean National Railroad College at the Convention Hall of the Kim Koo Museum & Library on Sept. 19. nw