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Korea High-Speed Rail System
Qua l i t y Aud i t
1996
The Korea High-Speed Rail Construction Authority (KHRC) engagedWJE to audit the quality of completed structures in the Seoul-Taejon section of
the rail system. The chairman of KHRC sought a premier U.S. engineering firm to provide quality assurance for the high-speed rail system and to help
enhance and update South Korea’s construction practices.
The KHRC project was one of the largest in WJE history, with fees and expenses totaling almost $3 million. It also brought together more than
thirty engineers and technicians from various WJE offices to collaborate on a long-term project located outside the U.S.
Notes of Interest
• The $16 billion Korea High-Speed Rail System project
was the largest single project underway in South Korea at
the time and was modeled after France’s Train à grande
vitesse (TGV).
• The line runs between Seoul, in the northwest part of the
country, and Pusan, a major port city in the southeastern
part of the Korean peninsula. By 2010, it is estimated that
more than 500,000 passengers will travel between Seoul
and Pusan per day.
• The trains are approximately 1,312 feet long and weigh
700 tons, making them the longest and heaviest TGV-type
trains in use, with the exception of the Eurostar trains,
which run between London, Paris, and Brussels. The trains
travel at a blistering 186 miles per hour, cutting the travel
time between Seoul and Pusan in half, to two hours.
• The trains are fitted with an automatic train control
system. Allowable and actual train speeds are continually
compared, and can be adjusted automatically if necessary.
WJE 50 Years