Rail Safety Evaluation... Incheon Transit Corporation 'Excellent', Seoul Metro 'Poor'

Citizens are wearing masks and waiting for the subway at Sindorim Station in Guro-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] In the 2020 Railway Safety Management Level Evaluation, Incheon Transit Corporation achieved the highest ranking. On the other hand, Seoul Metro received a generally inadequate D grade for safety management.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority announced the results of the 2020 Railway Safety Management Level Evaluation conducted on domestic railway operators and railway facility management organizations on the 25th.

The railway safety management level evaluation was introduced to encourage voluntary safety-first management by operators and to spread a railway safety culture from executives to field workers.

The results of this evaluation showed that the safety management level has improved for three consecutive years, following the first evaluation in 2018 (77.10 points, C grade) and 2019 (81.54 points, B grade).

In this year's evaluation, the average score of the 21 evaluated organizations was 85.24 points (B grade), indicating that the safety management level of operators and others is generally excellent.

An A grade indicates a very excellent state with no safety management issues, while a B grade means minor improvements are required but the overall state is excellent.

A C grade indicates a normal state requiring partial improvement, and a D grade indicates an inadequate state requiring overall improvement.

By organization, Incheon Transit Corporation recorded the highest rank, followed by Busan Transportation Corporation and Korea Railroad Corporation.

Gyeonggi Railroad and Seoul Metro received C and D grades respectively, showing inadequate safety management. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority plans to provide railway safety consulting to these organizations.

Kang Hee-eop, Director of Railway Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We plan to notify the results to the evaluated organizations, related ministries, and local governments to reflect them in management evaluations," adding, "We will continue to strengthen safety management to prevent accidents and failures and to promote convenience for users."

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