Acquisition of 6 Domestic Railway Technology International Certifications in 2020 Supported by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Support Expanded from 1 Billion KRW in 2020 to 2 Billion KRW in 2021 to Meet International Certification Demand
[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 22nd that a total of six domestic railway technologies obtained international certifications last year, which is expected to secure competitiveness in the global railway market.
Despite the rapid growth of domestic railway technologies such as the introduction of distributed power vehicles (EMU) and the development of Korean-style signaling systems, international certifications such as Safety Integrity Level (SIL) have acted as technical entry barriers when domestic companies enter overseas markets, causing difficulties in overseas expansion.
In particular, small-scale railway companies often do not acquire international certifications due to the enormous costs and time required, which has led to limitations where domestic technologies could not be used in overseas projects won by Korea, and foreign technologies had to be applied instead. For example, in the construction of Jakarta LRT Phase 1 in 2017, although Korean companies participated, domestic technologies were not internationally certified, resulting in the import and application of more expensive foreign products rather than domestic ones.
In response, since 2018, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been supporting the costs required to obtain railway-related international certifications demanded by overseas clients through the "Railway Products International Certification Acquisition Support Project," providing up to 100 million KRW** per case, and has been operating educational courses related to international certification acquisition for industry workers.
As a result, despite the difficulties in overseas entry and certification procedures due to COVID-19 last year, a total of six domestic railway technologies successfully obtained international certifications, including the highest grade of international safety standards (SIL 4), based on the Ministry's support project, the Ministry explained.
Starting with the first domestically produced trackside control device technology (LEU) obtaining the highest international safety standard grade (SIL4, Shinwoo ENG) in February last year, in April, the axle detection device technology became the first domestic technology to acquire the highest international safety standard grade (SIL4, Daewoo TAI), and in August, the top-and-bottom opening screen door technology, which won the pilot project at Malakoff Station in Vanves, France, obtained the highest international safety standard grade required by the client (SIL4 SA, Estraffic).
In addition, in September, a domestic railway company (CSI N Tech) acquired the International Railway Industry Standard certification (IRIS) for railway signaling and safety product manufacturing and quality management capabilities, and in December, domestic technologies such as the uninterruptible emergency broadcasting system (SIL2, Woojin Industrial Systems) and platform safety step (SIL3, CDA) consecutively obtained international safety standards required by overseas markets, opening possibilities for overseas expansion to places like Washington Metro and Brazil Tram.
Considering the recent increase in demand for international certification acquisition by domestic railway companies, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has continuously expanded the scale of the "Railway Products International Certification Acquisition Support Project" from 500 million KRW in 2018, 500 million KRW in 2019, to 1 billion KRW last year. In particular, this year, the support scale will be significantly expanded to 2 billion KRW.
Kim Seontae, Director of the Railway Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Although it takes a long time and considerable cost to obtain international certifications in the railway field, acquiring international certifications is essential in the mid-to-long term in the railway market where safety and reliability are especially important," adding, "Since the government's international certification acquisition support project has led to remarkable achievements last year, we will continue to support domestic companies in obtaining international certifications to elevate the domestic railway industry to an advanced country level."
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