Korea Rail Network Authority Wins Feasibility Study Contract for 'Taepyeongyang Connection Railroad'

Kim Han-young, Director of the Korea Rail Network Authority (second from the left), is taking a commemorative photo after signing a contract via video conference on the 24th with the Costa Rica Railway Authority for the feasibility study service of the "Pacific Connectivity Railway." Photo by Korea Rail Network Authority

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Rail Network Authority has won the feasibility study project for the "Pacific Connection Railway" commissioned by the Costa Rica Rail Authority.

On the 24th, the Rail Network Authority announced that it had signed a contract with the Costa Rica Rail Authority for the project.

The project aims to restore the railway line (98.3 km) connecting San Jose, the metropolitan area of Costa Rica, and Puntarenas on the Pacific coast.

The Rail Network Authority will participate jointly with domestic companies such as Dongil Engineering and Suseong Engineering to verify the project's feasibility through local market analysis and environmental assessment.

In particular, the Rail Network Authority emphasized that winning this project is significant as it gained an advantage in competition against European countries such as Spain, which have traditionally dominated the Latin American railway market.

It also plans to actively pioneer and enter the Latin American railway market using this as a foothold.

Previously, since 2019, the Rail Network Authority has been laying the foundation for entering the local market through continuous technical exchanges with Costa Rica, including performing the "Costa Rica Railway Project Management Consulting Service" commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Since last year, it has also been forming a domestic consortium to win the San Jose Metropolitan Passenger Railway Project, a key project in Costa Rica.

The San Jose Metropolitan Passenger Railway Project aims to alleviate traffic congestion in the metropolitan area of Costa Rica by installing double-track electrified railways with a total length of 84.9 km across five lines, with a total project cost of 1.8 trillion won.

Kim Han-young, Director of the Rail Network Authority, said, "Winning the project commissioned by the Costa Rica Rail Authority will serve as a foothold for the Rail Network Authority to enter the Latin American railway market in the future," adding, "The Rail Network Authority will continue to strive to actively enter overseas railway markets through win-win cooperation between public institutions and private companies."

Costa Rica Pacific Connection Railway Route Map. Provided by Korea Rail Network Authority

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