K-Railways Enters Manila Metro Operations with 10-Year, 120 Billion KRW Contract

Opening in 2026...
Beyond Simple Exports to Operation and Maintenance

Korean railways have made a full-scale entry into the overseas operation and maintenance market, moving beyond simple rolling stock exports.

On April 22, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that an order support team, including Baek Wonkuk, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry, and Han Moonhee, President of Korail, met with the Vice Minister of the Philippine Department of Transportation in Manila. Following the meeting, they signed a contract for the operation and maintenance of Manila Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 7 and will begin local operations for ten years.

This contract is part of a project commissioned by San Miguel Corporation, the largest private infrastructure company in the Philippines. Korail will dispatch 28 management experts to oversee driving, control, station operations, and the maintenance of rolling stock and facilities. The project period will run from July 2025 to December 2034. The contract value is approximately 120 billion KRW. MRT-7 spans a total length of 23 kilometers with 14 stations and is scheduled to open in December 2026.

The contract for the Manila Urban Railway Operation and Maintenance Project, won by the order support team including Baek Wonkuk, Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (fourth from the left), and Han Moonhee, President of Korail (second from the left), was signed on the 22nd in Manila, Philippines, followed by a commemorative photo. Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Korail has been providing consulting services for this line since 2016. Based on this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that Korail was selected as the preferred negotiation partner in September 2024. In March 2025, Minister Park Sangwoo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport met with the Philippine Minister of Transportation and actively promoted Korail's operational expertise.

This achievement marks the first domestic case covering both rolling stock exports and operation and maintenance. Previously, in June 2024, Korail exported 42 high-speed train cars to Uzbekistan (worth approximately 270 billion KRW), and in February 2025, exported 440 metro cars to Morocco (worth approximately 2.2 trillion KRW).

The Ministry expects this project to serve as a stepping stone for expanding the participation of Korean companies in transportation infrastructure, including the Philippine North-South Commuter Railway and investment and development projects for Davao and Iloilo airports.

Vice Minister Baek stated, "The overseas order strategy, which has been pursued for several years by forming a 'National One Team' of the government, public, and private sectors, has produced results even in the operation and maintenance sector. We will provide comprehensive support so that K-Railways can establish itself as a global brand responsible for everything from planning to operation."