Korea`s next-generation bullet train nears 430 km per hour

“It’s as good as an airplane both in speed and comfort. It’s like a plane on a railway.”

Upon the arrival of the HEMU-430X, the next-generation bullet train following the KTX, on a platform of a central station in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, some 200 people including Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Minister Kwon Do-yeop and Korail President Jung Chang-young welcomed it with a round of applause.

Developed solely with domestic technology, the bullet train ran up to 428.9 kilometers per hour in a test-run in October last year. The HEMU-430X is the fourth fastest train in the world following France’s V150 (575 kilometers per hour, 2007), China’s CHR380 (486 kilometers, 2010), and Japan’s Shinkansen 700 Series (443 kilometers, 1996).

After 100,000 kilometers in test runs until 2015, the HEMU will be introduced for commercial use. A Dong-A Ilbo reporter rode 28 kilometers on the train from the Changwon central station to Jinyoung station on the day of the train`s debut.

○ Killing two birds (speed and comfort) with one stone?

The first impression was comfort. The HEMU-430X has wider space than the KTX, which passengers have complained of cramped conditions. Standard seats are 93 centimeters apart on the KTX but 100 centimeters in the new train. A passenger can stretch his or her legs under the seat in front.

The new train also boasts an LCD screen like that used in an airplane. Movies and news are available on the screen, and it recognizes a passenger`s ticket with RFID, telling customers when to get off.

For example, it says, “Five minutes left to your destination.” Pushing the “call” button on the screen will get a train crew member to show up.

The biggest advantage of the HEMU-430X is faster speed. Mok Jin-ryong, planning and strategy director of Korea Railroad Research Institute, said, “Though the HEMU can reach speeds up to 430 kilometers per hour, it will run 350 to 400 kilometers per hour."

Travel from Seoul to Busan via the KTX takes 2 hours 25 minutes but the new train will shorten that trip to 1 hour 36 minutes if its speed reaches 400 kilometers per hour. Going from Seoul to Daegu will be significantly cut from 1 hour 37 minutes to 1 hour six minutes, and the time for a trip between Seoul and Gwangju will be slashed from 2 hours 52 minutes to 1 hour 7 minutes.

Hong Sun-man, head of the rail institute, said, “The HEMU will enable people to commute to and from anywhere in Korea within an hour.”

○ First test of electric multiple unit system

Technically, the HEMU is Korea`s first electric multiple unit train. Engines are dispersed with multiple cars, not the head and tail of the train. As a result, it can save time when speeding up or slowing down the train.

“The HEMU can speed up to 300 kilometers per hour two minutes faster than the KTX,” said Kim Gi-hwan, head of the speed train project at the railroad think tank, adding, “It makes a train run faster given the short intervals between stations in Korea.”

The new train was developed by 52 think tanks, including the Korea Railroad Research Institute, for 93.1 billion won (79.9 million U.S. dollars) over five years.