S. Korea will replace diesel trains with carbon-free locomotives by 2029

[Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

South Korea will replace all of its diesel passenger locomotives with low-carbon bullet trains by 2029, President Moon Jae-in said on Monday, as the country moves forward to turn carbon neutral by 2050 and take the lead in global transportation infrastructure sector.

“Korea will be reborn as a safe and smart transportation innovation country based on its New Deal initiative,” Moon said on Monday as he went aboard KTX-Eum, an electric multiple unit (EMU) train, traveling from Wonju, Gangwon Province, to Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.

KTX-Eum is Korea’s first multiple power train that consists of self-propelled carriages and allows stable operation even under malfunctioning of some device parts. The bullet train discharges only 70 percent of carbon emissions of diesel-powered ones.

[Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

Korea will invest more than 70 trillion won ($64.6 billion) by 2025 to build high-speed railway, railroad networks, and accelerate railway projects in major cities, Moon said.

“The investment will link major cities across the country in two hours and reduce commuting hours in the capital area to 30 minutes,” he added.

The KTX-Eum embodies basic pillars of Korean New Deal – green, digital, and regional New Deal. The environmentally-friendly train involves green locomotives with significantly reduced carbon emissions, digitization of social overhead capital through fourth-generation LTE-R, and balanced regional development through centerline operations.

“The global railway market is expected to reach 240 trillion won this year with high-speed railway market growing at an annual average of 2.9 percent,” Moon said.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]