Reality bites for visions on rail links

By Lee Joo Hee

"The iron horse longs to run again" is a familiar phrase to most South Koreans, who have been educated since their elementary years that reconnecting the cross-border railways is the symbol of a reunited Korea.

Upon the successful preparations for yesterday's test-run, President Roh Moo-hyun dubbed it an "historical event" marking a big step forward for the nation's public and their future.

He also described it as a stepping-stone to advance the economic community of the Korean peninsula as well as Northeast Asia.

The visions regarding the use of the railways, however, are considered to be politically sensitive and highly unpredictable, as progress hinges greatly on the development of the nuclear talks among the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

It would also require consistent cooperation from North Korea, which both government officials and experts here are skeptical of.

Some observers also criticize the government for hurrying through the railway test before any tangible result has come out of the six-party talks, with North Korea still delaying the shutdown of its main nuclear facilities.

The Unification Ministry here released a press kit earlier this week describing the significance of the test-run of the Gyeongui Line and the Donghae Line in three different aspects - the significance it poses on history, the economy and militarily.

The ministry explained that in terms of history, it will be a symbol of reconnecting a severed vein between the two Koreas. Geongui was cut off in June 1951 and Dongahe in 1950.

The ministry says that by reconnecting the lines it presents a blueprint to break away from division and the cold war and ushers in a new era.

In terms of the economy, it will pave a technical way to normalize railway operations. It would complete the basis of establishing infrastructure on land, by sea and by air, according to the ministry.

So far, as of 2006, over 96 percent of the logistics between the two Koreas had been delivered by sea, 3.9 percent by road and zero percent via air.

The railways would also help activate the shipment of products to and from the joint industrial park in Gaeseong.

As for the military sector, the test-run of the railways is an important part of constructing trust between the military authorities. Through future discussions, elevated military assurances are expected for the railways and roads across the Military Demarcation Line, the ministry says.

On a broader term, it would pave the way for a discussion to begin on the Trans-Asian Railway network and to connect the two cross-border lines to the Trans Siberian Railway and the Trans China Railway. Such visions, however, are far-sighted ones that would require a more advanced railway infrastructure in the North.

The government has decided to work on the full reconnection of the railways in three steps.

It has put aside 1 billion won ($1.7 million) of inter-Korean cooperation funds this year for the initial work.

The project is part of the pan-peninsula mission envisioned under the Roh Moo-hyun government since as early as 2005. The plan envisions the infrastructure development of logistics, telecommunications and electric power for comprehensive economic cooperation after a solution to the nuclear crisis is worked out.

The first stage would be to use the railway along the Gyeongui Line to ship logistics related to the Gaeseong industrial park and for North Korean workers to commute.

Currently, over 13,000 North Korean workers commute in crowded buses to Gaeseong.

To use the railway for logistics would require a permanent military security guarantee with the North Korean military authorities - this would be impossible unless the nuclear standoff is resolved or improved, according to observers.

The second stage involves opening the railway to South Korean officials and employees working at the Gaeseong industrial park and for South Korean tourists to have access to Gaeseong City.

South Koreans travel to Gaeseong via bus or car at present.

The third stage would involve operating a regular train service between the two Koreas.

This stage would bring the most complexity as it would also require the technical modernization of North Korea's railways.

North Korean railroad technology is decades old. Their trains have a sustainable speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour, assuming they are operational at all.

Restoring and fixing the railways would cost an astronomical amount of money and the North simply cannot afford it.

It is also a predictable scenario that North Korea relies solely on its pride in dealing with other countries and will put forward a passive and negative attitude toward the projects.

The possibility of linking the cross-border railways with the Trans Siberian Railway or the Trans China Railway is something that even the generally optimistic Seoul government officials shun.

Putting aside the technical inadequacy of North Korean railways, the project means that South Korea would have to build new railway connections between the southernmost railway stations to major logistics points.

Building new railways would cost immense amount of money and it is highly likely that South Korean businesses will not be interested, government officials explain.

The Trans Siberian Railway is the world's longest railway, spreading 9,288 kilometers from Moscow to Vladivostok.

If linked with the Korean peninsula, the route would extend from Moscow to Duman River of North Korea, and as far as Busan of South Korea.

The matter of linking the Trans Siberian Railway with the Korean railways has been under consideration by research institutes of the two Koreas and Russia but with little to no progress.

North Korea is reportedly interested in linking Donghae with the Trans Siberian Railway but such a move would require a connection between Jaejin and Gangneung of South Korea. That alone would cost some 1.5 trillion won over 10 years of construction.

In order to be adequate for international cargo, the North's rail system must be turned into a two-track network and be electrificated.

"(Such ideas) are, as we call it, visions, and nothing more for now. Let's focus on the symbolic and short-term meaning the test-run would bring to us," a government source said on condition of anonymity.