Qualitative Analysis on the Results of the Integrated Railway Safety R&D Project

철도종합안전기술개발사업 성과 분석

The railway safety in Koreaisthreatenedduetotherestructuring of the railway industries, introduction of the Korea Train eXpress (KTX) and electrification of the conventional lines. Many technical backgrounds are required to control railway accidents as low as reasonably practicable, such as a railway safety act, safety standards, and safety assessment infrastructures. Korean government and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) are conducting an integrated R&D program for improvement of the railway safety, where the target is to reduce the accident fatalities by half. The program is composed of three parts; the safety system engineering and the program management, the establishment of a safety management system, and the development of techniques for assessing and preventing major railway accidents. Details of the research programs are explained in this paper, where risk is used as the major control measure.