Summit talks between N.K. and Russia push TSR connection up to 2003

Huge changes in Northeast Asian logistics systems are expected as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to connect the inter-Korean Railroad with the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR). This connection could attract European bound cargoes from Korea and Japan that have to date only been able to make use of sea and air transportation.

Experts predicted that as the result of North Korean and Russian summit talks Gyeongeui (Seoul-Pyongyang) Line restoration will be accelerated in order to transport goods via the TSR by 2003. They also pointed out technical and political problems that will have to be solved as soon as possible to connect both railroads by 2003.

According to a report from the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MOCT), after an on-the-spot survey of the TSR last year, the economic benefits to South Korea could well be far beyond previous expectations, if the TSR and Inter-Korean Rail are connected together.

Container cargoes between Korea and Western Europe number 800,000 TEU annually. Sea routes from Pusan to Hamburg in Western Europe are 19,200 km long, taking an average of 26 days. Each container costs about 1,200 to 1,400 dollars. However, if the TSR came into play, the distance would be shortened by 6,800 km, cutting off 8 days of transit time. The cost could also be halved to 600 dollars.

On the Russian side, it would secure tolls of 400 million dollars annually, adding 500,000 TEU to its cargoes, that is, if the inter-Korean railway is connected to the TSR. North Korea also can be expected to garner 100 million dollars in tolls annually.

However, the largest problem is how to fit together the different rails in inter-Korean railway and the TSR; TSR rails are broader than their Korean counterparts. Under the current situation, cargoes will have to be transshipped to the TSR at the North Korea border. To avoid the hassles of transshipment, trains with variable axle widths will have to be developed.

The cargo costs from Pusan to Vladivostok may also be too high at 600 dollars, decreasing the attraction of using the TSR. In addition, timely services in Russia and North Korea are in doubt, cargo losses are a genuine concern, and the possibility of political chaos also may block the successful connection of the inter-Korean railway and the TSR.