Seoul Metro and Korea Railroad Corporation Joint Drill to Prepare for Emergency Situations

Subway 'Towing Measures' Require Swift and Accurate Rescue Connection Actions... Strengthening Joint Response Capabilities for Emergencies in Shared Operation Sections Through Joint Drills

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seoul Metro Corporation is enhancing its response capabilities for train emergencies by conducting joint rescue coupling drills with Korea Railroad Corporation (hereinafter ‘KORAIL’).

On October 27, the Corporation and KORAIL held the third joint rescue coupling drill of 2022 at Suseo Vehicle Depot.

The first drill took place on May 25 at Changdong Vehicle Depot, the second on September 21 at Imun Vehicle Depot, and the third on October 27 at Suseo Vehicle Depot.

The Corporation and KORAIL jointly operate Lines 1, 3, and 4. When a train experiences a malfunction in the other organization’s operating section, typically the staff of the affected organization quickly perform maintenance to resume operation. However, when on-site recovery is not possible and rescue coupling is essential, cooperation between the two organizations is crucial.

Subway ‘Towing Action’ Rescue Coupling... Speedy Response is Vital

Rescue coupling (photo) is carried out when a malfunctioning train cannot be repaired or operated on-site. All passengers from the faulty train and the following train are disembarked, and the normal train is coupled to the faulty train. The faulty train is then moved and stored at the vehicle depot by the power of the following normal train, allowing subsequent trains on the line to operate. It is similar to towing a broken-down car on the road, but unlike a tow truck, the train is pushed from behind.

For rescue coupling, the braking device must be manually released, and when the coupled train is moved back, it is operated at a speed of 25 km/h or less for safety reasons, so recovery takes a long time and disrupts the operation of the affected line. Rescue coupling is considered the last resort for fault recovery and must be swift and accurate. The Corporation and KORAIL conduct annual joint drills to enhance rapid fault recovery capabilities when Corporation and KORAIL trains are coupled in jointly operated sections.

‘One Mind’ for Rapid Fault Recovery through Sharing New Train Specifications between the Two Corporations

The drill assumed a scenario where a train experiencing a malfunction made an emergency stop and could not operate under its own power. The trains used in the drills were recently introduced models, and the specifications and characteristics for rescue coupling were shared to enable prompt response in case of an incident. All three drills focused on evaluating whether actions according to the common rescue coupling manual were smoothly carried out with passenger safety as the top priority.

During the drills, staff paid close attention to customer safety by implementing safety measures and making onboard announcements, and the drills received high evaluations for excellent communication and adherence to manuals between the two organizations.

Ahn Chang-gyu, Head of the Seoul Metro Operations Headquarters, stated, “Through three drills this year with Korea Railroad Corporation, we were able to strengthen joint response capabilities between the two organizations. We will continue steady communication and repetitive drills to quickly recover from emergencies and minimize customer inconvenience.”

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