A KTX bullet train stopped at about 12:15 p.m. yesterday in Geumjeong Tunnel, Busan, on its way to Seoul and just 10 minutes after it departed Busan Station. This was the eighth such KTX glitch this year.

“Geumjeong Tunnel is located on a slope and the engine suddenly lost power, barring the train from climbing the slope and leading to the [stoppage],” a Korail official said.

According to Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail), officials were unable to determine the reason for the power failure and started the train again on reserve power at 12:33 p.m. The train returned to Busan Station at 12:57 p.m. About 500 passengers boarded another train that departed six minutes later.

“The train was receiving power with no problem so there wasn’t a blackout,” a Korail official said. “The train conductor visited each car in the train and explained the situation to passengers, telling them it would return to Busan Station.”

There were no injuries, but passengers said they felt nervous and uncomfortable while stuck in the tunnel for about 30 minutes. Other trains were delayed due to the malfunction.

“I was worried the train would collide with another train,” a 35-year-old passenger surnamed Kim said on condition of anonymity. “Some passengers complained about the delay.”

Geumjeong Tunnel is the longest tunnel in the country at 20.3 kilometers (12.6 miles) long.

Korail said the train is different than the KTX-Sancheon, which was involved in a series of accidents in February, including one derailment.

The train was imported from France and has been in operation since 2004, when Korail opened KTX trains to the public. But experts say the equipment in the trains are more than 10 years old because Korail had test-driven the trains before opening the system in 2004.

Passengers yesterday were critical of bullet train’s numerous problems.

One passenger said, “It seems that KTX trains operate only a few days without an accident. I am so scared that I can hardly board KTX trains anymore.” A Korail official said a reduced number of maintenance workers led to the recent accidents.

There were 53 malfunctions on KTX trains in 2010, according to Korail.


By Chang Chung-hoon, Kim Hee-jin [heejin@joongang.co.kr]