Korail Receives Special Merit Award for Railway Transportation Safety

Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) announced on the 12th that it has received the ‘Special Contribution Award in the Field of Railway Traffic Safety’ from the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD).

OSJD is an international organization that establishes and oversees international standards for Eurasian railways, with 30 countries participating as full members. The main purpose of OSJD’s activities is to enhance the efficiency of railway transportation linked to the Eurasian international railway network.

Image of the certificate for the 'Special Contribution Award in Railway Traffic Safety' presented to Korail by the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD). Provided by Korail

KORAIL collaborates with OSJD member countries to share railway operations and safety technologies. In this process, it was recognized for its contribution to strengthening international railway safety standards by transferring advanced safety technologies such as the digital-based mobile ‘Train Approach Warning App,’ receiving the ‘Special Contribution Award.’

Since the opening of the KTX in 2004, more than one billion passengers have used KTX trains, maintaining world-class levels in key safety indicators such as punctuality and accident rates, which is believed to have positively influenced the award recognition.

KORAIL has achieved results such as improving the safety environment in the railway sector, reducing the number of incidents by an average of 9.4% annually over the past decade since 2015. Last year, the number of railway accidents and incidents decreased by 15.8% compared to the previous year, reaching the lowest level ever recorded.

In particular, last year, KORAIL’s railway accident and incident rate recorded the lowest level ever at 0.03 cases per one million kilometers, which was lower than the average accident rate of 0.197 cases per one million kilometers in European countries that have operated over 100 million kilometers (based on 2021 data). This indicates that Korean railways have surpassed advanced railway countries (European countries) in the safety sector according to global indicators.

In fact, in the International Union of Railways (UIC) Safety Annual Report (2022), KORAIL received a Grade 1 comprehensive safety rating, which was higher than Germany and France (Grade 2). UIC is an international organization with 216 institutions from 83 countries.

Kim Won-eung, Head of KORAIL’s Overseas Business Division, said, “KORAIL will continue to exchange and cooperate with OSJD member countries to take the lead in strengthening global railway safety capabilities.”