Unsettling Trains: Korail Trains Derailed 12 Times This Year Alone

Disrupted Train Operations Cause Commotion at Seoul Station: A Mugunghwa train derailed at Yeongdeungpo Station in Seoul on November 6, forcing the suspension and delay of trains as well as changes in service areas until the following day. In the evening of November 7, citizens waiting for trains fill the station in front of the stairs leading down to the platform at Seoul Station. Kim Chang-gil

Last weekend, a fatal accident killed a Korail worker and a Korail train derailed shaming the instructions of Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong “to carefully prevent safety accidents.” Railroad workers on the field had constantly demanded improvements in their working environment, but the company did not take proper action using costs as an excuse, eventually drawing criticism that such lack of action led to human injuries and deaths.

According to the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) on November 7, there were fifteen derailments (including quasi-accidents), which could have led to a massive disaster, from January to September 2022. Quasi-accidents refer to incidents that could develop into railroad accidents. Among the fifteen incidents, twelve involved trains run by Korail. Three of the derailments in 2022 led to human injuries, and they were all Korail trains including the Mugunghwa train that derailed on November 6.

Korail is a public enterprise with more than fifty full-time employees and is subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. Despite that the legislation was enforced this year, four accidents at Korail in 2022 resulted in the death of a worker. In March, a worker died after he was caught between a train and the track while working in the train examination depot. In July, a worker was fatally hit by a train while inspecting the waterway next to the platform at Jungnang Station, Seoul. In September, another worker was hit by a train while replacing parts in a screen door at Jeongbalsan Station in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi. He was transported to the hospital but did not survive. On November 5, a worker was fatally hit by a train while conducting tasks related to freight cars at Obong Station in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi.

The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union, an affiliate of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, released a statement and said, “A worker dying while conducting shunting/switching tasks (separating and joining cars) is nothing new. When the fatal accidents of workers engaging in shunting/switching operations continued, Korail announced that it would introduce hands-free walkie talkies, switch signal flags and signal lights (LED), and introduce an automated and remote-controlled shunting/switching system, but the company never kept that promise, and nothing changed.” The union argued, “To improve the system, the company needs to invest in facilities to guarantee visibility in the worksite and to improve the safety devices of freight cars, but management has been reluctant to invest using the deficit as an excuse. This eventually led to human injuries and deaths.”

According to Korail, the company conducts safety inspections annually, but trains continue to derail every year. An analysis of the twelve derailments that occurred this year showed that railroad switch related accidents accounted for the greatest number of accidents (six), followed by negligence in checking the train’s course (five). The Korea Transportation Safety Authority explained, “The reason the number of train accidents increased this year was because railroad traffic accidents increased, such as derailments and collisions when passengers used the trains.”