Hyundai Rotem Rolls Out World's 4th High Speed Train

Train runs 300km/h and is built with independent Korean technology

The Korean consortium hoping to export the high-speed rail system to Brazil held a briefing session at a downtown hotel in Sao Paolo on Feb. 13 to explain the technology they will supply to Brazil's TAX high-speed rail project. The consortium included officials of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Korea Rail Technology Research Institute and the Korea Rail Network, the team said.
Brazil plans to build a high-speed rail linking Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro, a distance of 403 km, and Sao Paolo and Campinas, a distance of 115 km, at an estimated cost of $2 billion.
Brazil will complete a feasibility study of the projected railroad by June and receive the outlines of the plans by foreign high-speed rail builders on the Latin American country's planned high-speed rail network. The high-speed rail construction companies in Japan, France and Italy are also likely to try to secure the project in competition with the Korean consortium.
Korea began its efforts to secure the project last November when President Lee Myung-bak paid a state visit to Brazil. He asked his Brazilian counterpart Luis Nacio Lula da Silva to help the Korean consortium win the project.
Brazil wants to complete the project by 2014, in time for the Brazil World Cup final, and wants to secure the high-speed rail technology. The Korean consortium is willing to meet the Brazilian demands as much as possible, an official of the consortium said.
Hyundai Rotem Company, a heavy-industrial affiliate of the Hyundai Motor Group, revealed to the public its first set of the new Korean high-speed train, KTX-II, which was made with independent Korean technology. The Chairman of the Committee of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs of the National Assembly of Korea, Lee Byung Suk; Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Lee Jae Kyun; foreign Ambassadors; representatives of KORAIL (Korea Railway); and 500 guests were present at the ceremony held on Nov. 25 at the company's plant in Changwon.
Korea was the fourth country in the world following Japan, France and Germany to acquire the technology to manufacture and operate a 300km/h (maximum speed 330km/h) high-speed train.
Hyundai Rotem was able to commercialize the KTX-II based on the national project for the first Korean high-speed train (HRS-350), which was first initiated when the new Gyeongbu high-speed train line was constructed. The project was administered by the government, including the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, along with 129 organizations including private companies such as Hyundai Rotem and research institutes.
Since 1996, a total of 255.8 billion won has been invested into this project and has involved over 6,600 researchers.
In the process of developing the required technology for high-speed trains, Korea has acquired independent technology for total railway systems such as IT, machinery, signaling and communication. By applying these technologies to railway systems, urban railway systems and light rail vehicles, the Korean railway industry is expected to make great advancements in technology.
The KTX-II was designed to minimize air resistance with its streamlined shape and maximize energy efficiency with an aluminum alloy car body. The safety and reliability has also been increased with main equipment such as a high-power motor, inverters and brake system, traction motor and supervisory control unit, which were developed with Korea's independent technology.
The KTX-II, which was designed and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem, will be test-run for six months by KORAIL. Its actual revenue service will start with the Honam line. In the second phase of the project, it will run through the Jeolla, Gyeongjeon and Gyeongbu lines.
Hyundai Rotem has proven its technology to the world railway market with the release of KTX-II and is aggressively seeking opportunities in new markets that have a demand for high-speed trains such as Turkey, Brazil and Australia.
Along with Hyundai Rotem, many other companies that have participated in developing the KTX-II have been acknowledged by the world and are expected to advance overseas. nw

This is the KTX High-Speed Train with the maximum speed of 300 km/h developed locally and to be exported to foreign countries.