'20% Decrease in Operational Failures After Implementation of the "Cheoldo Charyang Jeongbi Gisulja System"'

(Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, since the introduction of the Railway Vehicle Maintenance Technician system in June last year to ensure the safety of railway vehicle maintenance, domestic railway vehicle operation failures have decreased by more than 20%.

According to the Authority on the 23rd, the number of railway vehicle operation failures recorded from the beginning of this year to October was 123 cases. This is a 20.6% decrease compared to 155 cases during the same period last year.

An official from the Authority stated, "The introduction of the maintenance technician system has strengthened the expertise in maintenance, which is analyzed as a factor in reducing operation failures."

A Railway Vehicle Maintenance Technician refers to a person who has qualifications, experience, and education related to railway vehicle maintenance and is recognized by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport under the Railway Safety Act. They perform tasks such as inspection, examination, replacement, and repair of railway vehicles.

As of September last year, the domestic railway vehicle maintenance workforce reached 10,351, but only 3,555 of them held railway vehicle maintenance certificates. Since 65.7% of the total railway vehicle maintenance workforce did not have certificates, there were concerns about railway safety. In fact, about 60% of domestic railway accidents and operation failures are understood to be caused by railway vehicle maintenance issues.

This is why the Authority introduced the maintenance technician system. Railway Vehicle Maintenance Technicians are classified into grades 1 to 4 based on qualifications and experience. To be recognized as a technician, applicants must submit an application form, career verification, a copy of the national technical qualification certificate, and a graduation certificate or degree certificate to the Authority. The Authority evaluates whether the documents meet the criteria and then issues a railway vehicle maintenance career certificate.

Since the system was implemented, as of the end of last month, 4,650 people hold the Railway Vehicle Maintenance Technician qualification. By organization, there are ▲Korea Railroad Corporation 1,640 ▲Seoul Metro 687 ▲Busan Transportation Corporation 625 ▲Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corporation 510 ▲Incheon Transit Corporation 251, among others. Private companies such as Yujin Vehicle, Koreil Tech, and Mainttrans also have around 100 people each who have obtained this qualification.

The Authority plans to continuously develop professional educational content and provide employment preference benefits to related agencies for Railway Vehicle Maintenance Technicians to promote the system.

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