South Korea launches bullet train
SEOUL, (AFP) - South Korea has launched its first high-speed railway system,
hailed as a sleek symbol of the country's drive for accelerated economic
expansion and high-tech innovation.
A gala opening ceremony here for the silver bullet train marked the
completion of 12 years of work and 14 trillion won (12 billion dollars) of
investment, including years of delay caused by the 1997 Asian financial
crisis.
The 300 kmh (186 mph) train will open for commercial service on
April 1 on two lines linking Seoul to Busan in the southeast and Mokpo in
the southwest.
"Speed means better competition. The Seoul-Busan KTX (Korea Train
Express) will be a symbol of the national competitive edge and a spring
board for prosperity in the 21st century," acting president Goh Kun said at
the ceremony.
"We will experience various benefits the high-speed train will bring
to our lifestyle and the economy," he said.
The bullet train is considered a seminal project in South Korea,
comparable to the completion of South Korea's first highway from Seoul to
Busan, 428 kilometers to the south, in 1970.
In the ensuing three decades, transportation costs on congested
roads have become a significant drag on the economy, accounting for nearly
four percent of Gross Domestic Product. The bullet train is seen as one
solution.
Kim Se-Ho, head of the state-run Korean National Railroad (KNR),
said KTX would bring about "revolutionary changes to logistics and people's
lives."
"By mixing KTX with other means of transportation, you can reach
anywhere in the country within a half day," he said of the French technology-
based bullet train.
The lure of linking Seoul to European capitals through a continental
railway system remains strong.
"My dream is to travel to Pyongyang and all the way across Siberia
to Europe by this high-speed train," Kim said.
Goh said the KTX would be the "starting point for the Iron Silkroad"
when the line is linked up with the inter-Korean railway, the Trans-Siberian
Railway and the Trans-China Railway.
KTX authorities said these railways are almost "physically linked" but
tensions over North Korea's nuclear drive and other non-commercial reasons
have delayed the integration of the railway systems.
In South Korea, lifestyles will improve as people abandon congested
cities for the countryside in search of cheaper rent and clean air and
residents in provincial cities will be able to shop and see art performances
in Seoul, said Kim.
Goh said the KTX will contribute to reducing the gap between the
capital and less-developed provincial areas.
Commuters will take 49 minutes travelling by train between Seoul and
Daejeon, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) south, while motorists sit behind the
wheel for more than an hour to reach downtown from the outskirts of the
capital.
KTX covers the whole 410-kilometer run from Seoul to Busan in 160
minutes although it has to slow down on old tracks used by conventional
trains. The fastest conventional train covers the same distance in 240
minutes.
When the old tracks yield to new railbeds in 2010, the travel time
will be cut to 116 minutes.
In its first year of service, KTX is expected to carry 180,000
passengers per day, enabling the Korean National Railway to cut back on slower
services to free up those trains for cargo.
With technology transfer from French energy and transport group
Alstom, KNR has successfully developed its own model, the G7, which KNR
hopes to export abroad.
KTX will operate 46 sets of trains, 12 imported directly from Alstom
and 34 others assembled here.
The project is the result of an accord signed in 1994 between South
Korea and Alstom, which defeated Siemens of Germany and Mitsubishi of Japan to
win the contract.
"I am convinced the TGV in Korea will be a great success
technically, commercially and financially, and that very soon the Koreans will
need to increase capacity," said Alstom Transport technical director
Francois Lacote.
南韓子彈列車一日正式營運
（法新社漢城三十日電） 南韓第一列子彈列車將於
四月一日正式上路，這被譽為是南韓邁向快速經濟擴張
及高科技新產品的鮮明象徵。
在漢城舉行的一項盛大通車典禮，代表施工十二年
及投資十四兆韓圜（一百二十億美元）的成果，包括因
為一九九七年亞洲金融危機所造成數年的延誤。
時速三百公里的子彈列車將在明天正式營業，共有
兩條路線，一條連接漢城與東南方的釜山，另一條連接
漢城與西南方的木浦。
南韓代理總統高建在典禮致詞說：﹁速度意味更強
的競爭力。漢城通釜山的高速列車將是國家競爭優勢的
象徵，也是在二十一世紀邁向繁榮的跳板。﹂
子彈列車被視為南韓一項開創性的國家工程，足以
和一九七○年完工的第一條高速公路相比擬，這條高速
公路由漢城通釜山，全長四百二十公里。
在隨後三十年，由於道路擁塞而造成的運輸支出，
成為經濟的重大拖累，在國內生產毛額佔了將近百分之
四。子彈列車被認為是解決方式之一。
南韓國家鐵路局長金世鎬表示，南韓高速鐵路的興
建將會為物流及生活帶來革命性的改變，「利用高速鐵
路，再加上其他運輸工具，到南韓各地都只要半天就到
了。」
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