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| Workers repair disconnected train tracks at Yeongdeungpo Station in southern Seoul, Nov. 7. Korea Times file |
By Lee Kyung-min
The government will accelerate efforts to automate train operations, in the hope of preventing train further accidents, the transport ministry said Tuesday. Also ordered was the resumption of the previous work shift system, scrapping the current one whereby fewer workers of Korail, a state-run rail operator, handle greater train operation-related work. Entry-level employees will be supervised by their senior counterparts while operating high-risk, complicated safety work.
These measures announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, have been prompted due to a series of train malfunctions and fatal accidents over the past few months. A total of four deaths and three train derailments were reported last year.
The latest was a two-hour delay of a train on Line No.1 on a bridge over the Han River in Seoul, on Dec. 15, after an entry-level employee with just five months of experience was unable to restart the train, which had a malfunctioning door. It took a lot longer than it otherwise would have, to fix the problem, according to observers, because a different worker called to help move the train, had only 13 months of experience.
On Nov. 5, a Korail worker in his 30s was hit and killed by a cargo train that was operated by an entry-level worker with less than six months of experience at Obong Station in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. The deceased was connecting and separating train cars at the time of the accident.
The fatal accident came hours before the derailment of a Mugunghwa train, which caused injuries to at least 34 passengers. The train carrying 275 passengers was arriving at Yeongdeungpo Station, Seoul.
The ministry will implement the remote control of train operations so as to gradually replace duties carried out by workers in person. Also to be developed are artificial intelligence (AI) train operation systems.
Switching train tracks will be managed by an automated system, instead of Korail workers' manual operation of the system.
Worker accountability in maintenance and safety operations will be strengthened, by keeping work logs containing detailed information and responsibilities of the shift workers on a real-name basis.
Surveillance cameras will be set up in the train operation room, to prevent cell phone usage by train operators. The measure was outlined after a ministry investigation showed an operator was using a cell phone at the time of the accident.
"The government will continue to monitor whether the said measures are properly implemented," Second Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Eo Myeong-so said. "We will prevent train accidents that threaten the lives and safety of the public."
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