hankyoreh

The state-affiliated Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA) has sparked controversy over its decision to use German products to construct a 122.8-kilometer second section of the Seoul-Busan KTX, or high-speed railway. Construction of the second section, which runs between East Daegu and Busan, is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

To construct the first section of this line, which runs from Seoul to East Daegu, goods produced in South Korea were used. Local manufacturers, which participated in construction of the first section, and the state-affiliated Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRI) denounced the KRNA for not using domestic products. They stressed that as a result of the decision, the over 20 billion-won budget spent to produce the goods will be wasted and the task of maintaining and managing the railroad will become more difficult.

The KRNA, which is in charge of KTX railway construction, decided to use turnouts made by the German company BWG for the express railway’s second section in June of last year, though the two companies have not yet signed a formal agreement. Turnouts are railroad switches that enable trains to move from track to track. For the first section, turnouts developed by Sampyo Engineering & Construction (Sampyo E&C), with help of French technology, were used. The shift came after it was decided that the rails of the second section would laid on a concrete slab, as opposed to the gravel bed on which the track was laid in the first section.

Kim Yeon-guk of the KRNA explained, “The existing turnouts manufactured by Sampyo E&C hadn’t, up to this point, been used for rails laid on a concrete slab. We couldn’t help but choose products by BWG because their safety has already been verified through their use in the German high-speed railway system.”

In response, Roh Myeong-su, a director at Sampyo, said, “We developed the technology for the turnouts with the French company Cogifer’s help and used them in constructing the first section of the KTX. The French turnouts were already being used for rails laid on concrete by the TGV’s Eastern European line,” referring to France’s high-speed railway. “Our products are about 13 billion won (about US$14 million) cheaper than the BWG products.” Sampyo E&C said that it invested 17 billion won over four years on development of the technology.

With its decision to use BWG products, it will now be difficult for the KRNA to use MJ81s that were produced by Samsung SDS with technological assistance from the French company Alstom. An MJ81 is a track switch used to operate the turnout. Kim Jong-gap at the KRNA said, “We are discussing the use of either German or Austrian goods.”

However, Kim Yong-gyu of the Korea Railroad Research Institute said, “If turnouts made by Sampyo E&C are used for the entire second section, MJ81s could be used for track switches again. If different goods are used to construct the first and second sections, that may result from the use of different switching systems and it will cost billions of won more to purchase additional parts for repairs.”

Last year, the Board of Audit and Inspection launched an investigation into the issue and will announce the results later this month.

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