Korail under fire after yet another accident

Saturday’s derailment of a Seoul-bound KTX train from Gangneung has brought state-owned railroad operator KORAIL under heavy public scrutiny, as it was the 10th accident on Korail tracks in three weeks. The accident, which left 15 injured, came just three days after Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon paid a special visit to KORAIL headquarters in Daejeon to order extra-strong safety measures in response to the series of mechanical failures ― as well as collisions with rail maintenance staff ― mostly involving the high-speed KTX trains. “It’s hard for us to accept that the accident happened just three days after the prime minister himself visited KORAIL to berate it and order the prevention of further accidents,” Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee said during her televised visit to the accident site on Sunday.

The high-speed line between Seoul and Gangneung, about 240 kilometers east of the capital, opened just six weeks before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February. Kim harshly denounced the state-run railway operator, saying the accidents revealed the flaws in KORAIL’s operation system. “While these accidents continue, it is quite embarrassing for us to have a big dream of winning overseas railway contracts or connecting the rails between the two Koreas,” Kim said.  She also said she would call to account those found responsible after a thorough investigation.  Korail said it was working to get the railway connection in the Gangneung-Jinbu section running again by early Monday morning. Currently, those trying to reach Gangneung Station from Seoul by rail must get off at Jinbu Station and take a temporary shuttle bus to Gangneung Station. The bullet train hurtled off the tracks at 103 kilometers per hour on Saturday morning, minutes after leaving Gangneung Station. The engine and a passenger car at the front zigzagged off at a 90-degree angle.

Experts said the cars could have completely flipped and caused serious casualties if the train had been going faster or had been moving through a curved section. After an initial investigation, Korail suspects a problem with the rail switch system caused the train to follow the wrong tracks. A sudden drop in temperature could have been a factor, it added. “From our own investigations, we believe the accident occurred because of wiring errors in the rail switch system,” Korail CEO Oh Young-sik said Sunday. The ministry-led joint committee will investigate the accident further and announce its findings in a month.

According to Korail records, there have been more than 660 mechanical failures on its trains between 2013 and July this year.  Experts said the recent accidents ran deeper than just technical failures, pointing to overextended resources in the upkeep of the system. Despite the increasing number of train failures each year, Korail cut its hiring budget for rail maintenance and repair workers by around 10 billion won ($8.9 million) from 2015 to 2017. Its records show it operated with 205 fewer repair personnel than recommended to keep almost 10,000 kilometers of railroad in working condition. The spending cuts, at the risk of passenger safety, are expected to continue. Korail recorded an operating loss of more than 500 billion won last year.

By Lee Suh-yoon

(Korea Times)