Railroad Industry Gains Ground as New Growth Engine

The government aims to up the industry's transportation share to 20% by 2020


Choi Jeong-ho, director general for railroad
policy at the Ministry of Land, Transport
and Maritime Affairs(MLTM) .

Development of a next generation high-speed train with a maximum speed of 430km/h with homegrown technology is underway, with the goal of enhancing high-speed railroad technology and accelerating the industry’s bid to tap overseas high-speed railroad markets, said Choi Jeong-ho, director general for railroad policy at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM).
The Korean-type next-generation high-speed prototype will be completed within this year and tests on the railroad network will begin next year, and completion of the prototype and improvement of performance will be pushed to brace for its commercialization, he said. The government set a goal of raising the railroad network’s cargo transportation share from 6.4 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2020, Choi said.
“The industry has become the focal point of concern and investment as a transportation means for low-carbon, green growth, job creation and high efficiency,” the director general said. “A 1 percent increase in the railroad network’s transportation share would result in a reduction of 600 billion won in energy consumption and 280 billion won in transportation congestion costs, eventually making it an essential task for ensuring low-carbon, green growth.” The following are excerpts of the interview between NewsWorld and the MLTM director general, who spoke about railroad development, overseas market exploration and other policies.

Question: Will you introduce the 2nd national railroad network buildup plan the government announced recently?
Answer: The national railroad network buildup plan is established every decade according to the Act of the Construction of Railroads so that investments into the railroad field can be made in an efficient and systematic manner. The 2nd national railroad network buildup plan between 2011 and 2020 was established after taking into account a wide range of views from related organizations and their experts on the basis of the outcome of a survey commissioned to a specialized research institute.
The 2nd national railroad network buildup plan calls for, among other things, making the railroad network accessible to major centers across the country within one-and-a-half hours and making them integrated metropolis spheres under a vision of restructuring the territory into an integrated, multi-nucleus and open-typed one. To this end, first, the government plans to complete the steps of the ongoing high-speed railway KTX (Korea Express) projects on time and expand KTX services to the whole of the nation by changing ordinary railroads into high-speed ones. It plans to raise the combined length of KTX lines to 701.3 km in 2020, up 332.8 km from 368.5 km in 2010. The Daejeon and Daegu metropolitan area portions of the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) KTX line will be dedicated together with the Suseo-Pyeongtaek section in the Seoul metropolitan area by 2014. The Osong-Gwangju section of the Honam (Seoul-Mokpo) KTX Line will be completed by 2014, and the remaining Gwangju-Mokpo portion will be dedicated by 2017. The total length of ordinary railroad lines will increase by 707.2 km by 2020, up from 3,082.5 km in 2010.
Second, the government plans to expand the Great Train Express (GTX) network in the Seoul metropolitan area to relieve traffic snarls there, raising the total length of the GTX network to 443.1 km in 2020, up 336.8 km from 106.3 km in 2010. The ongoing GTX projects, including the Yongsan-Munsan section of the Gyeongui Line, the Yongsan-Gangnam portion of the Shinbundang Line and the Ansan-Yeouido section of the Shinansan Line, will be implemented without a hitch together with the new projects in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Third, the government plans to build a mass transit railroad logistics network that connect such key logistics centers as ports, industrial complexes and inland logistics centers. The total length of the railway network leading to key logistics centers will rise to 269.1 km in 2020, up 90.9 km from 178.2 km in 2010. Four logistics railroad lines leading to Gwangyang Port, Ulsan New Port, Yeongil New Port in Pohang, and the Gunjang Industrial Complex will be completed on schedule, while five lead-in railroads to Donghae Port, Masan New Port, the Ulchon Industrial Complex in Yeosu, the Gumi Industrial Complex and the Asan Industrial Complex will be newly launched.
According to the 2nd national railroad network buildup plan, the expansion of railroad networks is projected to cost a combined 88 trillion won.
If the nation’s railroad network is expanded as planned, the domestic railroad sector will see its passenger transportation share surge from 15.9 percent in 2008 to 27.3 percent in 2020 as well as its cargo transportation share climb from 8.0 percent to 18.5 percent during the period. It is projected to bring about 6.8 trillion won in social benefits and reduce 7.74 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, regional access improvement will yield an additional 91 trillion won in production, while the expansion will have an effect of creating 1.98 million jobs and 233 trillion won in production spillover effects.

Q: Will you explain the current status and prospects of the Korean railroad industry?
A: The Korea railroad industry has come from strength to strength for 113 years since 1899 when the nation’s first Gyeongin (Seoul-Incheon) Line was opened to public traffic. Of late, the industry has become the focal point of concern and investment as a transportation means for low-carbon, green growth, job creation and high efficiency.
Currently, the railroad network, including urban electrified lines, transport approximately 3.2 billion passengers, or a 24 percent share, as well as about 47 million tons of cargo, or a 2.7 percent share, per annum. Investments into the railroad field keep rising, raising the total length of the railroad network to 3,557.3 km. The extension of the high-speed railroads adds up to 368.5 km, accounting for some 9 percent of the total network.
Massive investments into railroad technology have led to the commercialization of the KTX-Sancheon, developed with homegrown technology. A next-generation high-speed train with a speed of 430km/h is under development. The Korean railroad industry is also striving to penetrate the overseas high-speed markets, including Brazil and the United States, by making the most of the experiences and technology it has acquired while operating the KTX high-speed railroad network. The railroad network will be further highlighted as a future transportation means of environmental friendliness, speed and safety, as climate change and energy issues are brought to the fore. The domestic railroad industry is accelerating to expand its business environs abroad, making it one of the nation’s growth engines.
If the metropolitan area sections of the Gyeongbu High-speed Line, Honam Line and GTX lines in the Seoul metropolitan area are to be completed by 2014, 2017 and 2014, respectively, the railroad network will make access to all major centers in the nation within one-and-a-half hours possible -playing a pivotal role in the restructuring of the territory space by making the whole country a half-day living sphere and a single economic sphere.

Q: Will you elaborate on mid- and long-term railroad development strategies under Korea’s low-carbon, green growth paradigm?
A: The railroad network accounts for 12 percent of an automobile’s energy consumption and 17 percent of CO2 emissions by vehicles. A 1 percent increase in the railroad network’s transportation share would result in a reduction of 600 billion won in energy consumption and 280 billion won in transportation congestion costs, eventually making it an essential task for ensuring low-carbon, green growth.
In an effort to raise the railroad network’s transportation share, a focus will be on improving speed competitiveness as well as boosting its connectivity with other transportation means.
The government set a goal of raising the railroad network’s cargo transportation share from 6.4 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2020. To this end, it plans to cut down on transportation costs by ramping up transportation capacity through the operation of two-tier cargo trains, long-length trains and nighttime trains while beefing up the competitiveness of railroad logistics by expanding high-speed trains to curtail transportation time. Railroad lines leading to ports and industrial complexes will be enlarged so as to make access to railroad network easier while railroad logistics facilities will be continuously expanded.

Q: Will you tell us about the current status and plans for operating KTX trains?
A: Now that the second phase of the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) High-speed Line was inaugurated last year, and KTX trains keep on running on the existing railroad lines, the KTX network now transports a daily average of 130,000 passengers by operating KTX trains at 30 stations across the nation on a daily average of 190 occasions as of April.
The ministry will see to it that the metropolitan area sections of the Gyeongbu High-speed Line, Honam Line and GTX lines in the Seoul metropolitan area are completed by 2014, 2017 and 2014, respectively, as planned, while KTX trains will be put into the Jeonju, Namwon and Yeosu areas of the existing Jeolla Line during this year and the line leading to Incheon International Airport during year.

Q: Will you specify the current status and plans for developing a next-generation high-speed train?
A: The development of high-speed trains began in 2007 with the goal of enhancing high-speed railroad technology and accelerating its bid to tap overseas high-speed railroad markets, and the development of a next generation high-speed train with a maximum speed of 430km/h is underway.
The existing KTX-1 and KTX-Sancheon use the concentrated tracking system, which means they are powered by two traction heads, while the next-generation high-speed train under development will use the distributed traction system in which passenger cars are fitted with power systems. Such high-speed railroad powers as France, Japan and Germany are developing next-generation high-speed trains with the distributed traction system as well, which has such strong points as lighter cars, improved speed, increased transportation capacity and easier formation of cars.
The Korean-type next-generation high-speed prototype will be completed within this year, and tests on the railroad network will begin next year. Completion of the prototype and improvement of performance will be pushed to brace for its commercialization.

Q: Will you tell us about policies to support the exploration of overseas high-speed railway projects?
A: The Korean railroad industry is trying to participating in the construction of high-speed railroad networks in California, the United States, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey by capitalizing on the experiences and technology it has acquired during the construction and operation of the Gyeongbu and Honam KTX lines and the development of KTX-II (Sancheon) with homegrown technology. It is essential to muster capacity in the railroad sector in which such overall technology areas as construction, rolling stock and signal are needed so overseas markets can be explored. The government operates an overseas railroad planning corps, charged with gathering and sharing information, developing manpower and technology and financial support. High-level government contacts will also be reinforced by visiting high-speed tender countries or inviting ranking related officials from those countries.

Q: Will you tell us about a plan to construct the planned Honam KTX Line?
A: The 182 km-long Osong-Gwangju Songjeong section of the Honam KTX line will be completed by 2014, earlier by one year than originally planned. The Osong-Gwnagju section launched track bed work in stages in May 2009, and the progress advanced to 13.9 percent as of 2010. The work at the track, structure and system areas, which began last May, is to be done by this November. A progress management team at each region is operated to achieve annual progress targets, including 39.1 percent for 2011 and completion by 2014 without a hitch
The route’s 48.6 km-long remainder, Gwangju-Songjeong-Mokpo section, will be determined in the first half along with design, with completion slated for 2017. nw

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