International Railway Journal - July 2008 - (Page 26)

Korea Mr Ahn Nag-Kyoun, an executive director of KR, explains KR’s plans for expanding the rail network, to David Briginshaw. are to be built either to plug gaps in the network or to prepare for the full opening of the inter-Korean border. The rail link on the east coast between North Korea and the South Korean town of Jeojin reopened in May last year, but the line from Jeojin to the south of Sokcho was closed during the Korean War and then dismantled. So thought is now being given to building a new line from Jeojin via Sokcho to Gangneung to link up with the existing railway, and another new line from there to Wonju. However, as Ahn points out: “this is a political project, and there is no decision to proceed yet.” Work has started on another section of new line along the east coast from Samcheok to Pohang. This single-track line will be used mainly for freight traffic. Further south, a new port has been built to relieve congestion at Busan’s existing port, so KR is building a new rail link which it hopes to complete next year. Korea is constructing a new capital city at Sejong, but the city is not rail served so KR is conducting a feasibility study for a new east-west line from Jochiwon via Sejong to Boryeong. Should the inter-Korean border open fully for the free flow of railfreight traffic, railfreight will become far more important to Korail than it is today, as this opens up the possibility of sending freight from Japan via Korea, and via China or Russia to Europe. In the meantime, Korail is pushing ahead with plans to run two passenger trains from Seoul to the Beijing Olympics next month. But, as IRJ goes to press, it is still far from clear whether Korail will gain approval from their North Korean counterparts for this highly symbolic service. IRJ Major conventional rail infrastructure projects Upgrading projects Line Length (km) Suncheon - Yeosu 32.4 Yeongsan - Munsan 48.6 Geumgok - Chuncheon 64.2 Deokso - Wonju 90.4 Cost Progress (Won billion) % Track doubling, electrification 6.4 68 Track doubling, electrification 19.7 64 Track doubling, electrification 19.8 63 Track doubling 17.2 68 Project Completion Axleload Speed (tonnes) (km/h) 2009 22 150 2009 18-22 120 2009 22 150 2008 22 150 Min curve Gradient radius (m) % 800 0.9 800 3.5 600 2.0 600 2.5 Conventional new line construction projects Pohang - Samcheok Gangneung - Jeojin Gangneung - Wonju Boryeong - Jochiwon 165.8 110.2 120.0 88.6 Single-track non-electrified Single-track non-electrified Double-track electrified Double-track electrified 24.4 18.4 18.7 26.8 3 Study RFP ready Study 2014 2014 2010 N/A 22 22 22 22 150 200 200 150 1200 2000 600 1200 1.25 1.0 2.5 1.25 26 IRJ July 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - July 2008

International Railway Journal - July 2008 Contents This Month News Transit News Market News/Technology News News Analysis Conference Report Korean Railways Face a Bright Future Korean Exports Surge Ahead Ready to Roll in China Velaro Shows Eastern Promise Are You Sitting Comfortably? Compin Meets New Challenges The Fabric of Society Grinding Out a Result Rendezvous Full Contact List The Last Word

International Railway Journal - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.