Tag: trains

This is going to be pretty awesome once it is built. California could only dream of building something like this:

The government has completed the development of core technologies for a next-generation high-speed train capable of operating at 370 kilometers per hour, making it the world’s second-fastest in terms of commercial operating speed, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday.

The train, named EMU-370, has a technically designed maximum speed of 407 kph. Developed under a national research and development program led by the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) with participation from seven public and private organizations, the project ran from April 2022 to December 2025.

A total of 22.5 billion won ($15.23 million) was invested in the project, including 18 billion won from the government and 4.5 billion won from private firms.

The government plans to begin manufacturing the first EMU-370 vehicles next year and conduct test operations in 2030, with commercialization expected after 2031. Once deployed, the EMU-370 would rank second globally in commercial operating speed, following China’s CR450, which is undergoing tests at 400 kph ahead of its planned commercial launch in 2027. Major high-speed trains in France, Germany and Japan currently operate at around 320 kph.

Compared with Korea’s current fastest train, the EMU-320, known as KTX-Cheongyong, the EMU-370 features a 47.4 percent higher motor output, 12.3 percent lower air resistance, a 33 percent reduction in horizontal vibration acceleration and a 2-decibel decrease in indoor noise. The train will seat 479 passengers and has a motor capacity of 560 kilowatts, equivalent to the combined output of 75 midsize sedans.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

For my readers in South Korea, bundle up because it is cold out there:

An icy cold wave that spread frigid winds over the weekend is expected to continue throughout the week, meteorologists said Sunday, urging caution over slippery roads, freezing and bursting water meters and other damage.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issued cold wave advisories and warnings for most parts of the country, saying the ongoing cold spell is caused by a southward inflow of cold air from Siberia. 

Midday highs remained at around minus 8 degrees Celsius across the country on Sunday. On Monday, morning lows in Seoul are forecast to be minus 11 degrees and midday highs minus 2 degrees. (…….)

Amid the cold weather, the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) reported damage to a Mokpo Station-bound KTX carrying 788 passengers, saying that windows on the bullet train were cracked at around 10:10 p.m. on Saturday. 

KTX train windows are double-glazed, and this time the outer parts of the windows cracked, according to the company. The accident caused no injuries or disruptions to operation of other trains.

“While outside parts of the windows of the train have become weak due to the cold weather, some of them were cracked after they were hit by pebbles,” a KORAIL official said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

These new GTX trainlines will connect northern Gyeongi and parts of Gangwon provinces to Seoul in about 30 minutes. The hope is that these express trains will push development furhter away from Seoul in an effort to decrease property prices in the city:

President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) speaks during a public meeting over intercity transport on a train at Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 6, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Monday to move up the completion of the Great Train Express (GTX) commuter rail networks as he visited a train station in Seoul’s suburbs to check progress on a new service line.

The GTX networks are set to enter service next year, starting in March with the GTX-A line connecting Suseo Station in Seoul’s Gangnam Ward with Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of the capital.

The GTX-C line connecting Yangju, 29 km north of Seoul, to Suwon, just south of the capital, is set to begin construction at the end of the year, while the GTX-B line connecting Incheon, just west of Seoul, to Namyangju, just east of the capital, will begin construction early next year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like China is trying to get business back to usual with North Korea despite their continuing COVID protocols:

Cargo train operation between North Korea and China is likely to continue, a South Korean government official said Tuesday, citing Beijing’s confirmation of its resumption following a five-month suspension.

On Monday, a freight train from the Chinese border city of Dandong was seen crossing a railway bridge over the Amnok River toward North Korea for the first time since late April.

Speaking at a press briefing later in the day, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, confirmed the resumption of the train service linking Dandong and the North’s border city of Sinuiju.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.