Does Seoul Metro have contingency plans for railway vehicle delivery delays?

Amid Large Liquidated Damages Imposed for Delays in Vehicle Delivery by Domestic Manufacturers at Seoul Metro, Seoul City Council Member Song Do-ho Reveals Inadequate Measures for Future Replacement Project Delays... During Seoul Metro Administrative Audit, All Domestic Vehicle Manufacturers Including Hyundai Rotem, Dawonsys, and Woojin Industrial Fined Up to 15 Billion KRW for Delivery Delays, Questioning Existence of Fundamental Countermeasures

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seoul Metro is imposing hefty delay penalties due to delays in vehicle deliveries by domestic manufacturers, but it has been revealed that measures to address future delays in replacement projects are inadequate.

At the 303rd regular session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s administrative audit of Seoul Metro, Councilor Doho Song (photo, Democratic Party, Gwanak 1) stated, “So far, all domestic manufacturers have been fined up to 15 billion KRW in delay penalties due to late vehicle deliveries. In particular, for the new Line 2 trains, only 6 out of 196 cars have been delivered to date, raising suspicions that the delay may be due to technical issues.”

He added, “We need to review whether the reasons for the delivery delays are appropriate. Since this case sets a precedent, we must devise a fair and reasonable solution and do our best to ensure prompt delivery without further schedule delays.”

Councilor Song continued, “In the future, the corporation plans to replace over 1,000 aging train cars, including 298 cars for Lines 5 and 8. However, aside from imposing delay penalties on domestic manufacturers, there are no reasonable countermeasures in place. This raises a high possibility of disruptions to the upcoming aging train replacement plans,” criticizing President Sangbeom Kim of Seoul Metro.

Song urged, “Simply postponing the replacement plans is unacceptable from the perspective of citizen safety. A reasonable ordering plan based on the annual production capacity of domestic manufacturers and measures to prevent delays must be established promptly.”

He also demanded, “Since lawsuits related to delay penalties are anticipated, thorough preparation for related responses is necessary. Additionally, smooth negotiations with manufacturers should be conducted to resolve disputes amicably.”

In response, President Sangbeom Kim of Seoul Metro stated, “We will carefully review the various points raised and promptly prepare improvement measures.”

◆ Annual Production Capacity of Railway Vehicle Manufacturers (as of September 30, 2021)

Hyundai Rotem: 990 cars

Dawonsys: 384 cars

Woojin Industrial Systems: 380 cars

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