High-Speed Train Running 400 km/h

The model of the new train unveiled featuring dynamic Korean tradition scheduled to debut in 2015

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs revealed on Feb. 17 the design of the model for a high-speed train that can run at the speed of 400 km/h. The ministry said the high-speed will replace the KTX II model now running on the Seoul-Busan High-speed Railroad in 2015 and the designs for passenger coaches and their interiors have been completed.
Bang Yoon-suk, chief of the Rail Car Technology Section of the ministry, explained that the next generation high-speed train is being developed as a next-generation growth engine by the government and will have traditional Korean dynamic cultural features, along with global patterns that appeal to foreigners' tastes for beauty and ambience.
Professor Lee Jong-ho of Korea National University of Arts took charge of design. The design of the frame of the new train has been determined by the survey on public preferences and critics commentaries on what the new train should look like in appearance. The designer studied the trains run by TGV of France, ICE of Germany and Japan's Shinkansen, which have been leading the high-speed train systems in the world and decided to employ the images of dynamic traditional sensitivity for arts and those that can be appreciated by global citizens to make the Korean high-speed train better than those existing ones in many areas.
The new KTX model has special characteristics in that each coach moves with its own engine to make the entire train run fast, whereas the existing KTX is powered by the engines attached to the coaches at the head and the end of the train. The separation of power engines makes the train easier to speed up or slow down and can flexibly add or reduce the number of coaches with brand new operation equipment. The new train is aimed at overseas markets as well as its use at home on high-speed railroads including the Seoul-Busan High-Speed Railroad (KTX), the ministry said. Installed at each of the seat are an intelligent smart sensor and a LCD monitor and can tell the location of the train and communicate with stewardesses for services, the ministry said. Using high-tech IT, the new train will provide upgraded services to passengers much better than those provided at the existing trains. All told, the design tried to express the train's dynamic operation schedule to be a vehicle that crosses over mountain ranges, borders, trendy and sensitively appeal to average global citizens. It also wanted to include environmentally friendly passenger cabins giving the utmost priority to passenger comforts, that have never been seen in trains, the ministry said.
The ministry plans to refined the design further, especially, technologies employed in the current design before it is firmly completed and shown to the public. The ultimate purpose of the ministry's plan is to make the train that has a global competitive edge in the world's train market, which is expected to continue to grow and competitive. nw