The Korea Train express (KTX) links the South Korean capital, Seoul, to the city of Busan on the south-east coast of the peninsula. The project for its construction was awarded to a consortium of French companies with a proven track record in the field of high-speed and Korean partners from the rail industry.

In 1994, French technology was chosen for the rolling stock in the form of the TGV, beating competition from the ICE and the Shinkensen and has a line speed of 300 kph.

A key aspect of the project is technology transfer. Whilst the first 12 coaches were built in France, the next 34 will be made in Korea.

The first phase of work led to the launch of the Seoul-Busan line with the completion of the high-speed stretch from Seoul to Daegu. Journey time between the two termini is 2 hours 40 minutes. This will be cut to 1 hour 56 minutes once the second phase is completed in 2010.

The country’s mountainous landscape has necessitated the construction of 75 tunnels stretching for 190 km, as well as over 70 bridges and viaducts totalling 120 km in length.

SYSTRA has been a partner on the KTX project since 1989. Its work has involved civil engineering, track design, supervising the laying of track, conducting pre-series trials, assistance with technology transfer and auditing of the testing and launch process.

Within the framework of the “Associated Services” contract signed with Alstom, SYSTRA also provided assistance with preparations for the operation and maintenance of the rolling stock, overhead cables and signalling. It also prepared maintenance and operating manuals and was involved in the training of maintenance staff and supervising maintenance work.

Key Dates

• 1989 : decision to build a high-speed line from Seoul to Busan ;
• 1992 : start of civil engineering works ;
• 1993 : choice of TGV technology ;
• 1998 : project split into two phases ;
• 1999 : inauguration of trial section ;
• 2002 : on-site trials ;
• 2004 : launch of phase 1 ;
• 2010 : launch of phase 2.

Key Figures

• length : 412 km ;
• number of stations : seven ;
• number of passengers : 330 000 per day (estimated).

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