Hyundai Rotem announced today that it has completed production of the power-dispersed express train EMU-320.
The commemorative event held on this day was attended by officials including Lee Yong-bae, president of Hyundai Rotem, and Park Wan-su, governor of Gyeongsangnam-do.
The EMU-320 power-dispersed express train shipped on this day will be delivered to Korea Railroad Corporation after undergoing a test run on the main line, and will be operated along with KTX-Ⅰ and KTX-Sancheon on existing high-speed rail lines such as Gyeongbu High Speed Line and Honam High Speed Line.
The EMU-320 express train is the same power-dispersed express train as the currently operating EMU-260 (KTX-Ieum).
Power-dispersed express train is a method of dispersing power sources to all vehicles. The acceleration/deceleration performance is excellent compared to the power-focused type, in which only the power vehicle at the front and rear of the train has a power unit. KTX-I, KTX-Sancheon, and SRT are power-intensive high-speed trains.
In particular, this type of train is efficient in the South Korean railroad environment with many curved sections and short distances between stations, and has excellent passenger transport capacity as it does not require a separate power vehicle.
Hyundai Rotem has been making ceaseless efforts to develop South Korean high-speed trains until the release of the EMU-320 high-speed vehicle.
KTX-Sancheon was born in 2008 after numerous trials and errors and R&D over decades from the time when South Korea had no high-speed train-related technology and infrastructure.
Furthermore, in 2012, the R&D vehicle HEMU-430X secured the technology base for power-dispersed express train.
Then, in 2019, the company released the first version of KTX-Ieum, the first power-dispersed express train in Korea, and succeeded in developing the first power-dispersed express train in South Korea. KTX-Ieum started operating last year.
