The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has recently revealed a new high-speed train named ‘KTX-Cheongryong’ which can reach a top speed of 320 km/h. KTX, short for Korea Train Express, is South Korea’s high-speed rail system and is operated by Korail.
The Cheongryong, the newest bullet train in South Korea, is faster than the previous KTX model, which enables passengers to travel from Seoul to Busan in approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, and from Yongsan to Gwangju in about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
President Yoon Suk-yeol, who attended the unveiling event, said, “We will continue to improve our high-speed railway system, making it even faster and more convenient for passengers. Our goal is to expand the network nationwide, creating a two-hour living area across the country.”
Cheongryong is a train service that aims to reduce travel times to long-distance destinations by making fewer stops. For example, the Seoul to Busan route only stops at Daejeon and Dongdaegu, while the Yongsan to Gwangju route stops only at Iksan.
“As the train speed increases and the number of stops decreases, travel times on high-speed lines like Seoul to Busan will be reduced by about 20 to 30 minutes compared to current times,” said an official from Korail.
Also, the new high-speed train has been developed entirely using domestic technology. The project of creating Cheongryong first began in 2007 with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport’s high-speed railway research and development program.
In contrast to the existing KTX models, Cheongryong employs a distributed power system. Unlike the previous models, the electric power units are spread throughout the train, which is expected to provide better acceleration and deceleration capabilities. Experts say that this system is optimized for operation in Korea, where the distances between stations are relatively short.
Another significant advantage of this system is the elimination of the need for locomotives at the front and back, which provides more space for passengers.
Cheongryong offers 136 more seats than Sancheon, another KTX model, which is a 35.8% increase. Additionally, the width of the seat aisles is 154mm wider than before. The Ministry plans to introduce two units of Cheongryong in May, with an additional 31 units to be added by 2028.
