Seoul-Busan

The Seoul - Busan high speed line cuts acrossthe length of Korea. Seventy per cent of thepopulation and production centres concen-trate along this line, a figure which is on theincrease: 1.7 times for passenger traffic and3.8 times for freight between 1995 and2011. Moreover, KTX (Korea Train eXpress)

also serves the regions tothe South-West of thepeninsula, since KTXtrains run on the conven-tional line betweenDaejon and Mokpo.

When it selected the TGVback in 1994, Koreabecame the first countryin the Far East to use theFrench technology inregard to high speed rail.However, in order to gua-rantee the successfulcompletion of a projectof this scope, the organi-sing Authority (KHRC -Korea High Speed RailCorporation Authority)entrusted its constructionto a consortium (KTGVC)pooling French contrac-tors with comprehensiveexperience of TGV cons-truction, and Korean part-ners from the rail sector.The contract included thesupply of 46 trainsets,

catenaries, signalling and project manage-ment services among which interface mana-gement, system integration, technologicaltransfer, assistance to operation and mainte-nance.Work sharing and technology transfer werekey factors in the selection of the system. Asa result, Korea is now capable of creating itsown high speed system and ranks amongthe leading players on the international rail-way stage. Twelve trainsets were built inFrance and served as a reference for the next34 trainsets which were produced in Korea.

As a consequence of the 1997 financial crisiswhich swept through the Asian countries,the decision was made to split the construc-tion of the project into two stages:

• Phase 1: operation of KTX trainsets bet-ween Seoul and Busan on a high speed trackbetween Seoul and Daegu, excepting anumber of sections through urban areas(Seoul, Daejon, Daegu). This stage includesthe modernisation of certain sections of theKNR/KORAIL (Korean National Railways) lineon which the KTX runs. The works includeelectrification, a new signalling system and anumber of civil engineering worksites.Between the two terminals, the travellingtime is 2.40 hours.

• Phase 2: construction of a standard highspeed track on the sections through theurban areas in Daejon and Daegu, redeve-lopment of thewhole of the section between

5 ,avenue du Coq75009 Paris FRANCETel : +33 (0)1 40 16 61 00Fax : +33 (0)1 40 16 61 04systra@systra.comwww. s y s t r a . c om

Seoul

Gwangmyeong

Chonan

Daejon

Mokpo

Gwangju

JeonjuDaegu

Gyeongju

Busan

The Country FiguresPopulation : 49 000 000 inh.Surface area: 99 392 sq. km

Korea Train eXpress (KTX)

Republic of KoreaSeoul-Busan

February 2008

Daegu and Busan, thereby cutting the tra-velling time between Seoul and Busan downto 1.56 hour.The new line is the largest civil infrastructureproject ever built in the country. The changesin the political environment of the countrycould lead to other projects, among which apossible extension to North Korea, shouldthe reunification happen.

InfrastructureThe project is most noticeable for its struc-tures, due to the difficult and mountainoustopography. Along the 410 km of the linebetween Seoul and Busan, there are no lessthan 75 tunnels, totalling 190 km in lengthand over 70 bridges and viaducts over120 km in all.

Standard construction structures and methodswere selected to optimise construction pro-cesses. In regard to viaducts, standard struc-tures consist of two to three continuous 25 mspans or two continuous 40 m spans. Thismeans that the possible length of the bridge

deck is less than 80 m, doing away, in mostcases, with the need to use rail expansionjoints.The innovative Precast Span Method (PSM)for the construction of several viaduct decksalong the line involves prefabricating,transporting and laying 25 m long and600 tonne concrete box beams. These areprefabricated in a temporary unit near oneof the ends of the bridge, carried by machi-nery especially designed for that purpose tothe spot where they are to be installed.They are then lifted and sited using a guidestructure.

StationsBetween Seoul and Busan terminals, fiveintermediary stations are sited in Gwang-myeong, Chonan, Daejon, Daegu andGyeongju. Those in Seoul, Chonan andGwangmyeong were especially built forthe new line. On the Western section, thetowns of Jeonju, Gwangju and Mokpo arealso served from Seoul and Daejon.As a consequence, all the main economic

and cultural centres in the Korean peninsulaare interconnected by the high speed line.

SuperstructureThe decision was made to build a ballastedtrack with concrete sleepers first on the 57 kmlong double test track, and later, on thewhole line, with the exception of tunnelsover 5 km long, where a track on slab of theRheda 2000 type was used. Rails are of theUIC 60 type.

Rolling stock and systemInitially, three railway manufacturers were incompetition to supply the rolling stock:Siemens (ICE), Mitsubishi (Shinkansen) andAlstom (TGV).Eventually, the French TGVtechnology was selected in 1994.Commercial speed is 300 km/h; the linelayout and fixed equipment are neverthelessdesigned to cope with a maximum commer-cial speed of 350 km/h in future. The 46 KTXtrainsets each consist of 2 power cars, 2 moto-rized end trailers enclosing 16 centre trailers.A complete trainset is 388 metre long, withan unladen weight of 701 tonnes; it has acapacity of 935 passengers, 127 in 1st classand 808 in 2nd class. KTX trainsets are singlecurrent: 25 kV - 60 Hz. Maximum tractionpower is 13,200 kW via a propulsion chainconsisting of 12 synchronous traction motors.

Speed check is performed by an AutomaticTrain Control system (ATC) using TVM 430, atrack to train transmission system. This isalready in operation on the TGV Nord inFrance, and provides a continuous check onthe train runnings within the safety parame-ters allocated to them. The control office isinstalled in the new Gwangmyeong station.

DepotsDuring the construction stage, Osong depot(located 120 km from Seoul) served as theoperational centre and base for the cons-truction, track laying and catenary assembly

KTX in Workshop �

Gwangmyeong Station �

CréditphotoAREP,photographe:VincentSung,architectes:AREP,MooyoungArchitects

SYSTRA has been involved in the KTX projectsince 1989 and throughout its performance.SYSTRA provided services in many fields,either directly for KHRC or as a subcontractorof frontline contractors, among whichALSTOM, the leader of the KTGVC Consor-tium:• assistance to design and supervision of civilengineering construction;

• assistance to Permanent Way (PW) design(conceptual design specifications, testing);

• supervision of track laying;• management of the tests on the pilottrainsets in France;

• assistance to technology transfer;• audit of the testing & commissioning process.

Other services were provided in the contextof the «Associated Services» contract signedwith ALSTOM in February 1995:• assistance to the French and Koreanconsortium for the preparation to operationand maintenance of the Core System (rollingstock, catenaries and signalling),

• production of the maintenance and drivingdocuments;

• training of the maintenance personnel;• definition and supply of a driving simulator;• supervision of the maintenance departmentsin charge of the Core System prior to com-missioning and during the warranty period.

Civil engineering contractsSYSTRA became involved in the project backin 1994, after the main technical decisionshad been made and the construction of thetest track had started. Its involvement, whichwas minimal at first (definition of the designcriteria, audit of the designer of the time,etc.), developed when SYSTRA helped KHRCsolve a number of technical problems arisingfrom design criteria specific to high speed,in regard to the infrastructure as a whole:bridges, tunnels, stations, etc.

In 1996, after works had come to a halt,KHRC requested SYSTRA to redo the designworks, through to constructional design forall the viaducts in the project, i.e. circa 130 km.On that occasion, SYSTRA also developednew construction methods in Korea to helpcontractors and cut down the constructiontime for the project. In this respect, SYSTRAalso re-designed a WP (8-2) with wide spanmixed structures, including Moam 1 archbridge, with a 124 m span, which was swungover a motorway without stopping traffic.

SYSTRA's role

Moam 1 Arch Bridge �

Moam 2 Warren Truss Bridge �

Daewu Bridge (Precast Span Method) �

works. It is still used by the fixed installationsmaintenance teams, but rolling stock main-tenance is now distributed between twodepots in Goyang (near Seoul) and Busan.Goyang, the main depot, has a total surfacearea of 142 hectares and will eventually becapable of maintaining a fleet of 56 trains.

Republic of KoreaSeoul-Busan

Facts and FiguresLength : 412 kmNumber of stations : 7 (Seoul, Gwangmyeong,

Chonan, Daejon, Daegu,Gyeongju, Busan)

Estimatedridership in 2011 : 330,000 passengers/dayNumber of trainsets : 46 single current trainsets

(25 kV-60 Hz), with acapacity of 935 seats per

trainset (of which127 in first class)

Organisations involvedOwner: Korea High Speed Rail ConstructionAuthority (KHRC)Core System Supplier: Korea TGV Consortium(KTGVC), capping 12 companies and led byEUKORAIL and ALSTOM Transport, consisting ofone System Integration Group (led by ALSTOM)and 4 industrial groups.Operator: KNR/KORAIL (Korean National Railways)

CostEstimated TOTAL (2002): 18.4 trillion Won(i.e. circa 14 billion US Dollars)phase 1: 9.8 billion USD / 12.73 trillion Wonphase 2: 4.4 billion USD / 5.69 trillion Won

Finance PackageState: 45 %:

Subsidies: 35 %Loan: 10 %

KHRC: 55 % :Bonds: 29 %Foreign borrowings: 24 %Private funding: 2 %

MilestonesMay 1989: decision to build a high speed linebetween Seoul and BusanAugust 1991: launch of the call for tenders withGEC Alsthom (TGV), Mitsubishi (Shinkansen) andSiemens (ICE) as contendersJanuary 24, 1992: beginning of the civil engi-neering worksAugust 20, 1993: selection of the French TGVtechnologyJune 1994: signing of the contract for the CoreSystem (rolling stock, signalling, catenaries)May 29, 1997: presentation of the first KoreanTGV trainset1998: project construction is split into two stagesDecember 16, 1999: inauguration of the testtrackJuly 31, 2001: beginning of the works for theelectrification on the 271 km long conventional track2002: test on site of the first 12 trainsApril 1, 2004: placing of phase 1 into commer-cial operation2010: placing of phase 2 into commercial operation

The Project

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Owing to the highly favorable reception ofSYSTRA's design work for KHRC by all theconstruction contractors involved in theproject, they then sub-contracted civil engi-neering design services to SYSTRA.SYSTRA also became involved in the supervi-sion of civil engineering construction forthree of the new line sections, i.e. over 30 km(21 viaducts, 4 tunnels) and in the construc-tion of Goyang rolling stock depot.

Track laying supervision contractsSYSTRA was involved in the supervision oftrack laying along the whole line: for thetest track between Chonan and Taejonwhich was placed into operation in 1999, forthe North section of the line betweenGwangmyeong and Chonan (154 km), andfinally for the South section from Daejonand Daegu. The services were sub-contractedfrom KHRC for the North section and fromSaman, the contractor in charge of laying,for the South section.

Maintenance planSYSTRA defined the maintenance policy,cycles, scope and organisation of the main-tenance operations and the resources needed.

Personnel trainingSYSTRA organised and undertook the train-ing of the various personnel categories(managers, trainers, team leaders, driversand traffic control office operators) in Franceand in Korea, to use and maintain the instal-lations. From 1996 to 2003, SYSTRA trained174 students, organised 660 weeks of train-ing courses and drew up 170 manuals.The services were provided under a subcon-tract from ALSTOM.

Driving simulatorSYSTRA designed the TGV driving simulatorfor the future Korean drivers, from the pro-

duction of the specifications to acceptanceon site and the training course for the users.The simulator was built by CORYS, and wassupplied in 1999.

Maintenance manualsSYSTRA drew up the user and maintenancemanuals for the system and associatedtools and, among other aspects, produced600 documents tailored to the specificcharacteristics of the elements supplied toKorea.

Maintenance supervisionSYSTRA organised long term secondments ofsupervisors to assist the organisation set-up,implement principles and use maintenancedocuments. The services covered the twoyear warranty period and involved twenty orso Rolling Stock supervisors and 10 Catenary/ Signalling supervisors.

Centralised traffic control centreDuring the period prior to commissioning,SYSTRA seconds 3 supervisors to assist theClient with the operation of the control centre,plus one supervisor specialising in driving.

Audit of the testing& commissioning processThe audit mainly focused on the documentssupplied by KHRC and was followed by3 missions on site to specifically attendseveral tests. The results of the audit werevalidated by a committee representing U.I.C.and D.B. The audit found no flaw in the pro-cedure adopted for testing & commissioning.

Phase 2 (Daegu-Busan)Since 2007, SYSTRA is providing assistance tothe consortium for signalling design andworks; SYSTRA, associated with a Koreancompany, is also supervising catenary designand installation.

Track Training �