Top officials from Hyundai Glovis and the Trans-Siberian Railroad led by President Kim Jung-hoon of Hyundai Glovis, 3rd L, cut the tape at the opening ceremony for the Hyundai Glovis Trans-Siberian Express Railroad Train at Vladivostok, Russian Far East, on Aug. 14. Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party of Korea and also the chairman of the Northern Economic Cooperation Committee, 4th R, and Rep. Yoon Joon-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, 5th R, are also present at the ceremony. (Photo: Hyundai Glovis)

Hyundai Glovis kicked off the maiden run of its new delivery facility, the Siberian train delivery service, on Aug. 14. It runs 10,000 km through the Russian Siberian plains to Europe for the first time for a Korean delivery service.

The railroad delivery thru Siberia to Europe is expected to cut the delivery time in half compared to the southern maritime route, which is part of the plan by Hyundai Glovis to open the Siberian region to the Korean delivery system for the first time using the Trans-Siberian Railroad (TSR) to its destinations in Europe thru Central Asia.

President Kim Jung-hoon said the company has done all it can to prepare for the new delivery system via the Trans-Siberian Railroad for the past three years from all angles, and “diversified ways so we can provide our advanced delivery services to our customers on the TSR,” he said.

Rep. Song Young-gil in his congratulatory speech said South Korea shall do its best to connect the Donghae Railroad to North Korea’s rail system, running thru the East Coast. It would be connected to the TSR at Vlastivostok in Russian Siberia, then can reach any destination in Eurasia via rail so South Korea is ready to open the age of the Northern Economic Cooperation.

There was a slow train service by a logistics company through several stops in this section, but Hyundai Glovis has become the first to operate a nonstop train service.

Hyundai Glovis first block train departed from Vladivostok Station on the morning of August 14 loaded with half-assembled parts for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC (HMMR). The cargo is scheduled to arrive at Shushary Station of Saint Petersburg about 9,600 km from Vladivostok Station 12 days later on August 26.

This method can cut time to transport parts for Hyundai Motor to Russia in half compare to marine transport time. It takes 22 days in total — two days to move them from Busan Port to Vladivostok Port, eight days to unload and transship them and 12 days to transport them from Vladivostok Station to Shussari Station near St. Petersburg on the TSR. Shipping them takes 43 days.

Hyundai Glovis held a ceremony in honor of the service launch at Vladivostok Station in Russia with the participation of about 50 people including Kim Jung-hoon, president of Hyundai Glovis and Song Young-gil, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party.

After successfully stabilizing its TSR logistics business, Hyundai Glovis plans to promote Eurasian railroad logistics in earnest in the long run.

The company is considering a project that will connect the TSR and the Trans-China Railway (TCR) from eastern China to Kazakhstan and Russia. The company has a strategy to enhance the competitiveness of its logistics business by utilizing the continental rail network that encompasses Eurasia by linking Russian and Chinese railways.