Yongin Light Rail Transit to be Operated by Consortium Including Dawonsys from August

Yongin Light Rail Transit City Hall Station Exterior View

Yongin Light Rail's new management and operation company has been selected as Yongin Everline Operation Co., Ltd., a consortium including Dawonsys Co., Ltd.

On the 6th, Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, announced that it approved the signing of the "Yongin Light Rail Operation and Maintenance (3rd) Contract" between Yongin Light Rail and Yongin Everline Operation. Yongin Everline Operation is a corporation established by a consortium of three companies: Dawonsys, a railway vehicle manufacturer, Daejeon Transportation Corporation, and Seolhwa Engineering Co., Ltd.

The contract period for managing and operating Yongin Light Rail is 10 years, from August this year to July 2033.

Yongin City explained that it actively participated in the contract signing process and achieved results such as cost reduction, full employment succession, and expanded obligations to provide information related to alternative investments (major repairs).

According to this contract, the cost invested in operating Yongin Light Rail over 10 years is 322.3 billion KRW. This is a reduction of 47.3 billion KRW (12.5%) compared to the management and operation cost of 369.6 billion KRW stipulated in the implementation agreement.

Due to changes in disaster safety communication network regulations, the operator will implement a project to newly build an LTE-R network by 2028. In addition, under the Railway Construction Act, the operator will conduct detailed inspections and performance evaluations of the light rail, which the city is obligated to perform.

The operator will also be responsible for the real-time safety inspection system for bridge facilities, a railway facility automation system, a smart vehicle undercarriage remote automation system, a smart station management system, and the establishment of a railway facility information management system. The city added that a fiscal saving effect of 36.7 billion KRW is expected.

All 187 employees of the current operator, Neotrans Co., Ltd., will also be fully retained.

Furthermore, the employees will be trained as multifunctional experts through specialized education.

The city particularly made the provision of information related to alternative investments a mandatory condition, expanding the scope of information provision to at least the level of detailed price statements when providing alternative investment implementation plans and performance.

Through this 3rd management and operation contract, the city expects overall service satisfaction of Yongin Light Rail to improve by enhancing convenience facilities such as installing bidets in all station restrooms and establishing a free pass system for transportation-vulnerable groups.

In this regard, Yongin Light Rail and Yongin Everline Operation will sign the management and operation contract on the 14th. After asset inspection and employment succession handover by July, full-scale operation will begin in August.

Mayor Lee Sang-il of Yongin said, "At a meeting with the light rail union last November, I emphasized that 'improving employee treatment and employment stability are natural conditions' and promised that 'when selecting a new operator, resolving employment insecurity will be the top priority, and the city will make its best efforts.' This promise has been fulfilled."

The mayor added, "Yongin Light Rail, which marks its 10th year of operation this year, has played a significant role in improving mobility for citizens in the relatively underserved Cheoin area. We will carefully oversee so that the new operator can provide more convenient and efficient transportation services to citizens by utilizing advanced systems."

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