Gyeonggi Province Saves 21.9 Billion Won by Jointly Utilizing Railway Safety System

Gyeonggi Province and Central Government Break Down Barriers for Joint Use of Railway Safety Information
Secures Access to Railway Safety Data Through Collaboration with Ministry of Land and Korea Transportation Safety Authority

Gyeonggi Province has achieved savings of over 20 billion won in its budget by gaining free access to the government's "Integrated Railway Safety Information Management System."

Gyeonggi Provincial Government building. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

On May 12, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had recently secured access rights to railway safety information through negotiations with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

Previously, under the "Gyeonggi Province Railway Safety Support Ordinance" enacted in January last year, the province was required to analyze and manage safety information related to railway accidents and operational failures. While such railway safety information is essential for proactive safety management and policy development, it had been primarily managed by central government agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which limited access for local governments. According to the province's own research, building such an information management system independently would have required a budget of approximately 21.9 billion won.

Accordingly, since February last year, the province has actively sought ways to minimize financial burdens and improve administrative efficiency by utilizing the "Integrated Railway Safety Information Management System," which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has entrusted to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority for operation.

Initially, related agencies raised concerns about security. However, the province proposed a compromise, restricting the scope of information access to railway lines for which it had directly issued licenses, thereby addressing these concerns. The agencies also agreed on the public interest of the initiative. As a result, the province reached a final agreement with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority to use the system without incurring additional database improvement or maintenance costs.

Through this agreement, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority will provide Gyeonggi Province with seven types of data—including the date, time, and type of railway accidents and operational failures—while reflecting security measures.

As a result, the province will save the 21.9 billion won required to build an independent system as well as additional costs such as database upgrades, while also establishing a foundation for proactive railway safety policy development. After optimizing the system—including improvements to the user environment—the province plans to fully utilize information from the Integrated Railway Safety Information Management System starting in the second half of this year.

The province assessed that this case has broken down the barriers between the central government and local governments and enabled the creation of a solid safety network for proactive responses to railway accidents or operational failures.

Choo Daeun, Director of the Railway, Port, and Logistics Bureau at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This case is a model example of saving budget and enhancing administrative efficiency through collaboration between the central and local governments. We will continue to actively cooperate to ensure the safety of our residents and strengthen fiscal soundness."

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