Significant Reduction in Railway Comprehensive Test Track Usage Fees... "Supporting Competitiveness Enhancement"

(Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Railroad Research Institute announced on the 19th that they will reduce the daily usage fee of the comprehensive railway test track by up to 13.26 million KRW by next year.

The comprehensive railway test track is a dedicated test track with a total length of 13 km where performance tests of railway vehicles and facilities can be conducted, allowing test runs at speeds of up to 250 km/h.

It began full-scale operation in March last year and has been used for testing 16 development products so far, including Australian export electric trains, rapid hardening tracks, and autonomous driving control tests.

However, the daily usage fee reached 14.27 million KRW, which was considered a heavy burden for the railway vehicle and parts industry, mostly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport formed a consultative body with related organizations to prepare a plan to reduce the usage fee.

Additionally, for the purpose of conducting vehicle running tests on the test track, extra costs incurred when using commercial tracks to transport vehicles or leasing vehicles and facilities will be supported by the Korea Rail Network Authority and Korea Railroad Corporation.

Kang Hee-eop, Director of Railway Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This fee reduction is expected to help domestic companies secure technological and price competitiveness in the global market and foster small and medium-sized enterprises," adding, "We plan to continuously strive to establish a world-class testing infrastructure going forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.