A view of the newly introduced high-speed train EMU-250, on display at Yongsan Station,Seoul. (Photos: KORAIL)

President Sohn Byeong-suk of Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL).

A high-speed train will be introduced on the route connecting Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul and Shinhaeundae Station in Busan. The new high-speed line will take about three hours. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to put eight trainsets of the EMU-250 on the line, making 32 round trips.

Departing from the KTX lines connecting Seoul Railroad Station and Busan Station, the EMU-250, a new Korean-developed near-high-speed train, will mark a “renaissance railway era” between Seoul and Busan.

According to the MOLIT, Korea Rail Network Authority, and Korail, the new high-speed line between Seoul and Busan will be connected to the Donghae Line at Bujeon Station and proceed via Shinhaeundae Station and Ulsan Taehwagang Station before changing to the Jungang Line at Shingyeongju Station, which is to proceed to Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul. The new KTX line will run via the Donghae and Jungang lines.

Construction on the Ilgwang-Shingyeongju section of the Donghae Line is under way. The line is to be dedicated in 2021. A process of repairing, improving and electrifying the existing railway network has been already partly completed. Work on the Cheongnyangni-Wonju section via Deokso is in progress.
Seowonju Station, through which the EMU-250 will run, is to be open in 2020.

The Seowonju-Shingyeongju section is now undergoing a process of electrification to make it double-track. Work on the Seowonju-Jaecheon portion is to be complete by next December, and the Dodam-Yeongcheon section is to be dedicated since a new line is being laid instead of the old, jig-jagged line to make way for the operation of the new quasi-high speed train.

The MOLIT plans to work out its operation schedule and test operate the new high-speed line. The EMU-250, operated by Korail, will be produced by Hyundai Rotem.

A MOLIT official said that the ministry has a tentative plan to introduce eight trainsets of the EMU with a combined 48 trains to make 32 round trips daily.

Korea’s representative high-speed train is the KTX, named after the Korea Train Express, the nation’s high-speed railway system. Other Mugunghwa-grade trains such as the ITX-Saemaul and the ITX-Cheongchun are also operating.

The upcoming Electric Multiple Unit (EMU)-250 will be the first high-speed train based on a decentralized engine system.