34 Trains to Be Delivered by 2028, Opening After 6-Month Test Run
Enhanced Fire Safety with LTO Battery Applied
Hyundai Rotem has been selected as the manufacturer of hydrogen tram vehicles in Daejeon. / Daejeon City
Hyundai Rotem has been selected as the manufacturer for the tram vehicles to be used on Daejeon Urban Railway Line 2.
The Daejeon city government announced on the 25th that it had signed a contract worth 293.4 billion KRW with Hyundai Rotem for the production of 34 hydrogen trams, including inspection and signaling systems.
Initially, it was expected that two domestic manufacturers would compete for the contract, but as a result of the bid opening on June 11, only Hyundai Rotem participated. The final decision was made after a proposal evaluation by a committee of 10 experts and a process of technical and price negotiations with the city.
The contract amount of 293.4 billion KRW is about 17 billion KRW less than the originally estimated 310.4 billion KRW.
With this contract, the hydrogen trams to be deployed on Daejeon Urban Railway Line 2 will be manufactured using entirely domestic technology. Through a national R&D project, the development of key component technologies, performance evaluations, and a 5,000 km test run have already been completed.
The hydrogen tram operates its motor using electricity generated by the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air, and can travel over 200 km on a single charge.
Furthermore, since electricity is generated using a hydrogen fuel cell stack, a core technology, no pollutants such as carbon dioxide are emitted in the process, so it is expected to make a significant contribution to improving air quality.
The side windows of the Daejeon tram vehicles will be equipped with four 55-inch transparent OLED displays showing route information and various convenience devices such as hearing loops for the hearing impaired.
Instead of the commonly used lithium polymer batteries, the battery system will use LTO (Lithium Titanium Oxide) batteries, which offer greater fire safety and longer battery life.
Starting with the delivery of the first set in the second half of 2026, the city plans to sequentially receive 34 hydrogen trams from Hyundai Rotem by the first half of 2028, conduct comprehensive test runs for about six months to verify performance and safety, and officially open the line at the end of 2028.
Daejeon Mayor Lee Jangwoo stated, "The commencement of vehicle production for Urban Railway Line 2 is as significant as the groundbreaking itself, as it marks the real start of a project that has long remained only in the planning stages."
Meanwhile, the Daejeon Urban Railway Line 2 tram construction project has a total budget of 1.4782 trillion KRW. The detailed design has been completed, and administrative procedures such as the traffic impact assessment are underway before final government approval. The city aims to begin construction in October and, after about four years of work, officially open the line at the end of 2028.
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