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| A train on the Shinbundang Line in operation |
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Shinbundang Line CEO |
A trendy driverless train line is attracting many passengers including foreign tourists.
The Sinbundang Line (DX Line), currently linking Gangnam Station and Jeongja Station, Bundang, in the vicinity of Seoul, has been coping with the rapidly expanding population in southeastern part of the metropolitan area and Pangyo new town.
Boosted by its previous success, the company, Neo Trans is also exploring possible ways of exporting its state-of-the-art operating knowhow to overseas markets.
Its export prospect has been brightened by the growing popularity of "hallyu" (Korean wave) in enhancing its marketing.
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A train is decorated with photographs of hallyu stars such as G-dragon. |
For instance, it has operated trains wrapped up with photos of singer and rapper G-dragon from September last year.
"Some 1,000 Japanese tourists boarded the train to see the photos and enjoy hallyu. We plan to further expand operation of trains with images of hallyu stars," said company CEO Song Jae-yoon in an interview with The Korea Times at his office.
The firm also invited other hallyu stars like Big Bang, Seven and Seungri to board the train as well as other promotional activities including making guidance broadcasting.
"All these events are designed to promote satisfaction of the passengers, domestic and foreign, while maximizing profits, as well," Song said.
He noted a growing number of tour agents have begun to include Shinbundang Line as part of tourism packages for foreign tourists mainly from Japan and China.
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Members of Seven dance during a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the Shinbundang Line in October, 2012. |
The line began operation in October, 2011 as the nation's first project proposed and executed by the private sector in response to the surging population in the metropolis.
Its phase two section, linking Jeongja and Gwanggyo, Gyeonggi Province, will be completed by 2016 while its phase three, connecting Gangnam and Yongsan, central Seoul, will be finished by 2019.
"With the completion of the remaining sections, we will be able to play a pivotal role as a core metropolitan line connecting the heart of the capital and the southeastern area," Song said.
Song attributed the success to the staffers' efforts in enhancing safety and convenience of the customers.
"The Sinbundang Line has run about 2.262 million kilometers, equivalent to 66 trips round around the earth without accidents as of Feb. 22 since its opening and achieved a record of 410,000 hours without any shutdowns," he said.
As the first heavy rail transit (HRT) driverless system in Korea, it guarantees normal operation of the trains by an automatic response system equipped with a state-of-the-art control and monitoring system.
It operates under pre-arranged programs, self-diagnosis, automatic recovery function guided by Vehicle on Board Controller (VOBC) train control.
These driverless systems are currently in some 100 lines around the world in countries like France, Spain, Singapore, United Arab Emirate, Germany, Britain, Brazil, Malaysia and China.
Since taking office in May last year, Song personally goes to the control room every day to check the operation situation as well as visiting the stations to hear the voices of the passengers.
"The Sinbundang Line has almost 100 percent precision of arrival and departing time. It has a perfect safety system installed with CCTVs inside the trains, thus there has been no crime reported since its opening," Song noted.
With the goal of maximizing the satisfaction and happiness of the passengers, the company has been displaying artistic works in every station by setting up galleries there including the G-Arche in Gangnam Station with a size of 522 square meters.
The galleries and other artistic spaces will be open to students, amateur artists and those from multicultural families.
"We plan to make the station familiarized to the customers to make them feel as if they are at home. Toward that end, we plan to open markets for direct sales of agricultural and livestock products produced in Gyeonggi Province at the stations from March," he said.
In a bid to promote exports of its train operational expertise, Song said the company has recently begun feasibility study on overseas markets.
The company is poised to join the International Association of Public Transport soon to explore further opportunities as part of its quest to make inroads into foreign markets.
Singapore Metro Rapid Transit (SMRT), which first provided Neo Trans with the knowhow on the driverless operation has agreed to join hands with the Korean firm in bids to advance into overseas markets in recognition of its upgraded operating techniques.
The company is seeking to participate in the Thales CBTC Seminar in Hong Kong slated for March 21-22 at the invitation of Thales of Canada to participate in discussions on its system of driverless operation.
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