Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Holds Railway Safety Meeting with Agencies... Preparing Measures to Prevent Major Railway Accidents

61 Railway Incidents and Failures Reported This Year

Expansion of Condition-Based Maintenance System

Strengthened Approval Inspections for Vehicle Safety Components

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on May 21 that it will hold a railway safety meeting with related railway organizations to discuss ways to improve railway safety.

This meeting is being held to prevent major railway accidents in the future. Despite efforts such as the introduction of advanced equipment and improvements to safety manuals, a total of 61 railway incidents and failures (48 operational failures and 13 accidents) occurred through April this year, highlighting the need for enhanced safety measures.

The meeting will proceed with representatives from organizations such as Korea Railroad Corporation, Korea Railroad Research Institute, and Korea Transportation Safety Authority sequentially presenting their agenda items, followed by in-depth discussions with external experts.

Korea Railroad Corporation has decided to expand a condition-based maintenance system that predicts the lifespan of parts based on operational data, enabling timely inspection and replacement of frequently failing components. A condition-based maintenance system refers to the practice of monitoring the condition of vehicle parts in real time and conducting maintenance before failures occur.

In addition, the corporation plans to collect condition diagnostic data for key components and establish a dedicated data analysis team to diagnose and analyze the real-time condition of trains.

The Korea Railroad Research Institute plans to strengthen type approval inspections for major components directly related to vehicle safety and performance. To ease the certification burden on manufacturers, they are also considering approval methods that utilize digital technology and simulation for laboratory-based testing and verification. Research and development will also be carried out for a smart maintenance system that automates the processes from entry of vehicles into maintenance depots to inspection, repair, and release.

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority will implement risk-based safety inspections and operate a joint inspection team that includes external experts during ad-hoc inspections of the railway safety management system. Ad-hoc inspections are conducted preemptively when there is concern that railway operators may cause accidents. The authority also plans to propose fundamental recurrence prevention measures, such as securing adequate rest periods, to prevent accidents caused by operator mistakes or lack of attention.

Kim Taebyeong, Director-General for Railways at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Until now, there have been limitations in that responses to railway accidents and operational failures have been focused on checking for regulation violations and punishment. We plan to prepare comprehensive measures in the second half of this year after a thorough diagnosis of the current status across the entire lifecycle, including technology development, manufacturing, operation, and maintenance."

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