The Republic of Korea’s (ROK) national railway operator, Korail,announced on recently that it has signed a 260 billion won (216 million U.S.dollars) contract to purchase 84 high-speed EMU-250 units from Hyundai Rotem.
The contract follows aprevious order of 30 trains in June 2016, and Korail will acquire both ordersby 2020.
The EMUs will be used on theSeohae Line, the Center Island Line and Jungang Line, all of which are beingextended or upgraded so that the new trains can travel at up to 200km/h.
“We will place the EMU-250 trains in isolated areas first to offer safer and faster services,” sayspresident of Korail, Mr Soon-man Hong.
Based on Korea’s nextgeneration high-speed train, the HEMU-430x, the EMU-250 has a top speed of 260km/h. Unlike the KTX-Sancheon, the new trains use distributed traction, allowing for better acceleration and safer breaking during emergencies. They have also been optimized to match ROK’s windy tracks and short distances between stations.
(Source: China International Contractors Association)
A single purchase
