SOUTH KOREA: Incheon airport shuttle operator A’REX has unveiled the design of its next generation of 150 km/h express trains to be used on the 61 km route between the airport and Seoul Station.
Hyundai Rotem is supplying nine six-car 1 435 mm gauge trainsets under a 181bn won contract signed in January.
The operator will use the new rolling stock to augment its existing fleet, helping it to resolve customer complaints and safety concerns related to increasing congestion on trains and at stations.
A’REX selected Hyundai Rotem through a ‘technology evaluation-oriented bidding approach’; the operator specified that the EMUs had to have better acceleration and braking than those being supplied for Seoul’s GTX Line A.
The extra A’REX trainsets will enter service from 2025. When all are running, peak headways will be cut to 4 min from the current 6 min and the operator expects a 30% reduction in congestion.
