President Sohn Byeong-suk of Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) looks at a thermal imaging camera installed at Dongdaegu Station to detect the infection of COVID-19 on Feb. 21.

Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) held an emergency management meeting at KORAIL headquarters in Daejeon on March 13 designed to tide over the bad effects of the spread of COVID-19.

KORAIL entered an emergency management mode in early March as passenger demand declined due to the spreading of the virus.

Major tasks being implemented by KORAIL under the emergency management regime include the securing of people and KORAIL staff safety through full support for quarantine efforts, minimizing expenses and consumable costs, and expanded investments and aggressive marketing activities designed to restore demand and boost domestic demand.

KORAIL has stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by disinfecting all stations and trains across the nation more than twice daily. KTX trains are cleaned more than four times on a daily basis - and thermal imaging cameras have been installed at major stations.

The corporation decided to halve work execution costs as part of efforts to pursue retrenchment budgetary management and minimize consumable costs such overseas on-the-job education and athletic meeting expenses.

All staff will be encouraged to go on annual leaves and take a leave of absence for a short-term period. KORAIL plans to lower special internet discount rate from current 30 percent to 50 percent to recuperate demand and boost domestic demand.

Figures released by KORIL showed that the corporation saw cumulative transportation revenues reducing by 162.4 billion won during Jan. 28 and March 12. On Jan. 27, the Ministry of Health and Welfare raised readiness against COVID-19 from a “cautions” level to a “warning.”

Average daily transportation revenue losses increased to 5.8 billion won since Feb. 23 when authorities raised readiness against the spread of the virus to the last “serious” level. if the effects of COVID-19 are to be protracted by the end of April, KORAIL’s transportation revenue losses are predicted to swell to about 450 billion won.

KORAIL President Sohn Byeong-suk said, “All staff will be united to devote themselves to working a two-way strategy of ensuring stringent disinfection and overcoming a management crisis.” KORAIL will make all-out efforts people can use railway without misgivings through tight-knit quarantine steps and stable operation, he added.

KORAIL crew members are engaged in disinfection activities at Guro Depot in Seoul on March 16. (Photos: KORAIL)

KORAIL Expands Flexible Seat System for Distancing Among Passengers

Effective on March 9, KORAIL has decided to expand a flexible seat system in which passengers are allowed to choose their seat in a given cabin during morning and afternoon rush hours. The move is designed to allow passengers to maximize distance between themselves to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Under the system, which is also applied to Saemaul trains, the number of flexible seat cabins will rise from current 194 to 373. Each train with one flexible-seat coupe will be added one more, and a train with two or three free-seat cabins will have two more.