‘Rail-Road and Shipping Integration’ Korail Launches Pilot Project for International Multimodal Transport

Korea Railroad Corporation (hereinafter Korail) has taken its first step in the ‘International Combined Transport Business based on the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD).’ This project is being promoted with the goal of linking export cargo transported to Europe and Central Asia with continental railways.

Han Moon-hee, President of Korail (left), is taking a commemorative photo with Yu Jinbang, Chairman of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CR) (right), after signing a "Memorandum of Understanding on Railway Cooperation" in Beijing, China, on the 25th. Provided by Korea Railroad Corporation

Korail recently announced on the 27th that Han Moon-hee, President of Korail, met with Chairman Yu Jin-bang at the headquarters of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CR) in Beijing and signed a strategic partnership agreement (business agreement) to strengthen Eurasian freight transport cooperation.

CR is a state-owned enterprise responsible for the operation and maintenance of Chinese railways and operates the Chinese section of the Trans-Eurasian Railway (TCR). CR’s railway operating distance reaches 159,000 km, including 45,000 km of high-speed rail. Daily, it operates 9,000 passenger trains and over 20,000 freight trains. Its transportation capacity exceeds 10 million passengers and 10 million tons of freight per day.

Korail and CR agreed to enhance the competitiveness of railway transport routes from Korea through China to Central Asia and Europe and to increase cargo volume based on the business agreement. They will also conduct joint research, personnel and technical exchanges, and jointly develop overseas markets including third countries.

In particular, the two organizations plan to coordinate priority track allocation for international combined transport trains promoted by Korail in connection with the Trans-Eurasian Railway Chinese section (TCR) and to unite efforts to resolve obstacles such as customs clearance delays.

Korail plans to establish a block train transportation method with CR, transporting cargo from Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, via Kazakhstan to Central Asia, aiming to reduce both time and cost.

Han Moon-hee, President of Korail, said, “The international combined transport pilot project will serve as a stepping stone for Korea and China to strengthen cooperation in the railway sector in the long term,” adding, “Korail will strive to ensure that international combined transport continues regularly.”