Korail Conducts 'Special Safety Inspection of Railway Facilities' in Preparation for Thaw Season

Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) announced on the 25th that it will conduct special safety inspections of construction sites around tracks and railway vehicle facilities to prevent safety accidents during the spring thaw season.

Korail employees are inspecting the condition of parts under the KTX-Cheongnyong at the Seoul Metropolitan Area Vehicle Maintenance Unit on the 24th. Photo by Korea Railroad Corporation

The safety inspections will focus on 545 construction sites around tracks that are at risk of damage due to rockfalls and ground subsidence during the thaw season, as well as causes of train car malfunctions and overhead line power supply failures in 2,630 electric train cars, which frequently occur in spring.

First, KORAIL plans to conduct close inspections of construction sites around tracks at least once a week and provide special safety education on safety rules and work approval procedures to new construction contractors.

Additionally, after conducting a thorough inspection of electric train cars, which often experience electronic device failures due to spring pollen, yellow dust, and fine dust, KORAIL will carry out steam cleaning of air conditioning systems. During the bird nesting season in March and April, 15,877 bird prevention devices on overhead lines will be reinforced to ensure uninterrupted power supply to trains.

To prepare for increased road traffic and railway passengers during the holiday and busy farming seasons, equipment inspections will also be conducted to prevent level crossing accidents and passenger casualties.

Furthermore, through safety inspections, KORAIL will verify whether warning lights, barriers, and other equipment at 730 railway level crossings nationwide are functioning properly, and conduct thorough inspections of platform screen doors (PSD) sensors installed at 321 stations, as well as 1,535 elevators and 2,817 escalators.

Hong Seung-pyo, Head of KORAIL’s Safety Technology Headquarters, stated, “We will strengthen facility management inspections in line with the spring thaw season and establish a safety system that can detect real-time risk factors using digital technologies such as intelligent CCTV and respond immediately.”