Hyundai Rotem and the Korea Railroad Research Institute joined hands to win high-speed railway projects overseas.
Hyundai Group's railcar manufacturing unit said on February 17 that it signed a partnership agreement with the state-run research organization in order to prepare for a bidding for the bullet train project in Turkey.
The Turkish government is currently building high-speed railway lines with the total length of 1,077 kilometers linking Ankara-Sivas and Ankara-Izmir. The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) will give a public notice for biddings on 640 high-speed train cars in the second half of this year. The price tag for the order is estimated at 3 trillion won. Under the terms of the agreement, Hyundai Rotem and the Korea Railroad Research Institute will establish a close working relationship at the stage of writing the bidding proposal.
According to Hyundai Rotem, Turkey is currently pushing to secure railway technology comparable to that of industrialized nations in Europe and North America ahead of the centennial of the republic in 2023. By promoting its prior experience in technology transfer, development of proprietary high-speed train cars, and capabilities in developing the next-generation distributed traction system railcar (HEMU), Hyundai Rotem will persuade Turkish officials.
Kim Seung-tack, Hyundai Rotem president, said, "We have maintained a good working relationship in Turkey through a variety of rolling stock supply business deals. Based on support from government agencies and technology cooperation with the Korea Railroad Research Institute, we will try hard to win the Turkish project successfully."
