Inspection to cover engineer training, crowd management and railway crime prevention
The government is stepping up safety management checks ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will hold an inspection meeting Friday morning at Suseo Station, reviewing Korea Railroad Corporation's (Korail) high-speed rail engineer training programs and examining plans to manage crowd congestion and strengthen security on trains.
The ministry has conducted three on-site inspections during the high-speed rail integration process, continuously reviewing the overall safety management system, including engineer training and drill programs. Friday's meeting will follow up on those inspections by assessing Korail's earnings and implementation progress.
The meeting will cover engineer recruitment in response to increased train frequency, supervised driving by experienced engineers, training programs to ensure crew members respond swiftly and appropriately to emergencies, and measures to bolster crowd management and combat railway crime ahead of the expected passenger surge during the Chuseok holiday.
Particularly for major stations expected to see heavy holiday congestion — including Seoul Station, Suseo Station and Busan Station — the ministry will review plans to deploy additional safety personnel and separate passenger flow for boarding and alighting to maintain order.
"Safety must be firmly in place for the high-speed rail integration to translate into tangible benefits for the public," said Jo Seong-gyun, the ministry's railway safety policy director. "The ministry plans to regularly monitor the progress of regulatory improvements to ensure Korail can establish and maintain a system that keeps railway workers — engineers and crew members alike — professionally qualified on an ongoing basis."
smh@heraldcorp.com
