Policy Research
RESEARCH
KOTI - Korea Transport institute
Conceiving railway safety policies more preventive
- Date
March 25 2019
- Page(s)
page(s)
#Railway
#Transport safety
This study starts to analyze actual railway safety policy in Korea. The keystone was built by the Railway Safety Act implemented in 2005, but there were several changes, especially in 2014, by introducing the railway safety management system (SMS). Nonetheless, Korean railway safety policy is still considered more punitive than preventive for a number of reasons.
The railway safety act was established in 2004, the year the KTX was launched. About 14 years later, the number of railway users in Korea increased by more than 60%, and there are 14 millions users a day according to statistics from 2018. However, the railway safety system has not changed at all since it first began. The supervising and monitoring activities for railway projects, infrastructure managersing and essential tasks for railway safety, are commissioned to TS, who specialize in automobile safety activities. In addition to this, railway technical issues are also commissioned to KRRI, the R&D institute for the railway industry.
In Europe, there is directive called EU 2016/798, equivalent to the Korean railway safety act that recommends the establishment of a national safety authority for each member country. National safety authorities are responsible for every issue related to railway safety such as authorization, certification, investigation, supervision and monitoring. In Japan, there are no special institutions for railway safety, but there are very strong constraints on railway projects. Europe and Japan are obligated to publish reports about railway safety annually in order to work from systematical feedback. Korean air and marine transport safety systems are operated using three steps; accident investigation, authorization & certification, and supervising & monitoring distinctions for industrial promotion activity. However, in railway sector, KRRI must act for industrial promotion, but also for safety regulation because it is commissioned for type approval(certification) by the enforcement act of railway safety.
The first proposition of study is to establish a railway safety authority in Korea, which carries out all tasks related to railway safety, and report safety-related railway events annually, changes and legal improvement. The second is to shift railway safety policy to a more preventive policy and provide support for the railway industry.
The railway safety act was established in 2004, the year the KTX was launched. About 14 years later, the number of railway users in Korea increased by more than 60%, and there are 14 millions users a day according to statistics from 2018. However, the railway safety system has not changed at all since it first began. The supervising and monitoring activities for railway projects, infrastructure managersing and essential tasks for railway safety, are commissioned to TS, who specialize in automobile safety activities. In addition to this, railway technical issues are also commissioned to KRRI, the R&D institute for the railway industry.
In Europe, there is directive called EU 2016/798, equivalent to the Korean railway safety act that recommends the establishment of a national safety authority for each member country. National safety authorities are responsible for every issue related to railway safety such as authorization, certification, investigation, supervision and monitoring. In Japan, there are no special institutions for railway safety, but there are very strong constraints on railway projects. Europe and Japan are obligated to publish reports about railway safety annually in order to work from systematical feedback. Korean air and marine transport safety systems are operated using three steps; accident investigation, authorization & certification, and supervising & monitoring distinctions for industrial promotion activity. However, in railway sector, KRRI must act for industrial promotion, but also for safety regulation because it is commissioned for type approval(certification) by the enforcement act of railway safety.
The first proposition of study is to establish a railway safety authority in Korea, which carries out all tasks related to railway safety, and report safety-related railway events annually, changes and legal improvement. The second is to shift railway safety policy to a more preventive policy and provide support for the railway industry.