Uijeongbu Light Rail Transit (LRT) will open its driverless line to the public in Uijeongbu city north of Seoul, South Korea, on 1 July.

Once the 11.1km line becomes operational, it will be served by 15 stations that took five years to build and cost KRW547bn ($475m).

Out of the total cost, KRW297.4bn ($258.4m) came from the South Korean consortium led by GS Engineering & Construction, while the remaining KRW249.6bn ($216.9m) was received from taxes.

According to the South Korea’s National Assembly Research Service (NARS) the rubber-wheeled LRT system will cost Uijeongbu city’s taxpayers KRW10bn ($8.6m) a year over the next ten years.

Uijeongbu LRT vice president Lee Myung-se told AFP: “Unlike other LRTs, there will be enough demand as it passes through the most populated areas and carries commuters fast to a station where they can transfer to the main subway line linked to Seoul.”

In November 2006, Siemens Transportation Systems (TS) won a €140m contract from Uijeongbu LRT to install a fully automatic Val metro system in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

Source www.railway-technology.com, 21 June 2012