South Korea’s leading train maker Hyundai Rotem Co. won an open tender launched by state-owned Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail) to deliver 250 kilometer-per-hour class high-speed electric multiple unit (HEMU) trains on Friday, according to railroad industry sources on Sunday.

The rolling stock manufacturer will provide 30 HEMU trains, EMU-250`s, at 3.4 billion won ($2.9 million) per carriage, or 102 billion won in total. “Hyundai Rotem was named as the successful bidder of the international tender on supplying high-speed trains for the Gyeongjeon Line. A formal contract will be signed and other procedures including down payment will be proceeded this week,” said an unnamed Korail official.

This order stands significantly for Hyundai Rotem as it is the first order in four years since 2012 when the train maker domestically developed the self-propelled and electric-powered HEMU vehicles for the fourth time in the world after Japan, France, and Germany. The HEMU trains will be supplied for the Gyeongjeon Line`s new route connecting Bujeon station in Busan and Masan, southern coastal cities of Korea. The new route is scheduled to open in 2020.

The tender was first launched in November last year and fell through twice until Hyundai Rotem and Korail agreed on 3.4 billion won per carriage at the third bid after the train manufacturer decided it was more important to accumulate sales records rather than generating short-term profits in order to win overseas orders.

Meanwhile, this order is expected to open doors for the Korean bullet train maker to participate in international auctions arriving soon. Turkey`s rail authority is expected to open a bid on a 1,077-kilometer railroad construction project requiring 640 high-speed trains in the second half of this year, and another international tender on a high-speed railroad project connecting Malaysia and Singapore is scheduled to open at the end of this year.

By Chun Jung-hong

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