Honam High-Speed Railway Phase 2 Project Changed from 'Gravel' to 'Concrete' Tracks

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Assemblyman Jo O-seop (The Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Buk-gu Gap) announced on the 4th that “the Honam High-Speed Railway Phase 2 (Gomagwon?Mokpo) project has been structurally changed from gravel to concrete tracks.”

This change in the track structure of the Honam High-Speed Railway is analyzed as a result of Assemblyman Jo’s issue raised during last year’s national audit.

Following the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s consultation on the total project cost due to the track structure change in Phase 2 of the Honam High-Speed Railway, the total track project cost for the Gomagwon?Mokpo section was approved at 150.3 billion KRW, increased from 69.1 billion KRW to 81.2 billion KRW.

In this section, the preliminary feasibility study in 2014 planned to apply concrete tracks (184.5 billion KRW), but in the 2017 project plan adequacy review, it was changed to gravel tracks due to ground conditions and total project cost, reducing the project cost to 62.8 billion KRW.

However, the Korea Rail Network Authority’s 2019 report on “Establishing Application Standards for Expanding Concrete Track Implementation” showed that although the initial construction cost of concrete tracks is 1.2 billion KRW/km, higher than gravel tracks at 800 million KRW/km, considering life cycle costs (LCC) including maintenance costs, concrete tracks are economically far superior.

For tracks designed for speeds of 230 km/h or higher, like the Honam High-Speed Railway, applying concrete tracks throughout the entire section is significantly advantageous in terms of LCC and also excels in safety by preventing gravel scattering caused by train wind during high-speed operation and accidents from snow and ice falling in winter.

Assemblyman Jo raised these issues during the last national audit and requested the design change of the Phase 2 section of the Honam High-Speed Railway to concrete tracks. As a result, the Korea Rail Network Authority recently secured approval for an 81.2 billion KRW increase in the total project cost through consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Assemblyman Jo said, “We should not only consider immediate costs without taking into account long-term economic efficiency, safety, and environmental aspects. It is fortunate that the Phase 2 section of the Honam High-Speed Railway, which will create a 2-hour living zone connecting Seoul?Gwangju?Jeonnam, can now be changed to high-performance concrete tracks.”

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