• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.141-157
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• 2007

This paper evaluates the effects of privatization and deregulation on the firm-specific efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the Korean and Japanese railways. Using a stochastic frontier approach and a generalized translog functional form, the paper specifies the equation system consisting of a multiproduct variable cost function and input share equations which is estimated with Zellner's iterative seemingly unrelated regression and the corrected least squares method. The Korean and Japanese railway firms are assumed to produce three outputs (Shinkansen passenger-kilometers, incumbent railway passenger-kilometers, ton-kilometers of freight) using three input factors (labor, fuel, maintenance and rolling stock). A monetary value of the ways and fixed installations held by the railroad firm is also included as a quasi-fixed input. The empirical results indicate that the average estimate of cost inefficiency is 2.57% for the total sample and on the average, JNR and JR Kyushu are found to be worst efficient while the most efficient railway firm in the sample is JR West. Also the cost efficiency levels of seven JRs have been improved after the reform and privatization of JNR. The findings also indicate that TFP growth of the privately-owned JRs are higher than those of the government-owned KNR and JNR. Three-island JRs and JR Freight have slightly higher TFP growth than Honshu JRs as well. Thus, the results suggest that managerial autonomy and increased competition via deregulation have improved efficiency and TFP growth.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.437-446
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• 2006

Open-steel-plate-girder(OSPG) bridges are one of the most prevalent bridge types among Korean railway bridges. They account for about 40% of all Korean railway bridges. However, the line-type bearings used for OSPG bridges generate several problems with respect to the bridges' dynamic behavior and maintenance. The replacement of the existing bearings with polyurethane disk bearings could be a possible solution to this problem. This type of disk bearing is an elastic bearing using a polyurethane disk. This study estimated the variations in the natural frequency of a bridge when disk bearings were installed and the bridge's dynamic behavior with a running locomotive and running trains. The first natural frequency of the bridge was 3% lower than that of the as-built bridge after the installation of the disk lower, respectively. Also, the second and third frequencies were 7 and 15% lower, respectively. The disk bearings increased the vertical displacement of the bridge, but the pure displacement, excluding the disk deformation, did not vary. The vertical acceleration did not increase when the disk bearing was installed, with trains running. The shear pin in the disk bearing reduced the lateral displacement and the acceleration of the bridge.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.723-730
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• 2008

Due to the higher ratio of live load to total loads of railway bridges, the accumulated damage by cyclic fatigue is significant. Moreover, it is highly possible that the initiated crack grows faster than that of highway bridges. Therefore, it is strongly needed to assess the safety for the accumulated damage analytically. The initiation and growth of fatigue-crack are related with the stress range, number of cycles, and the stiffness of the structural system. The stiffness of the structural system includes uncertainties of the planning, design, construction and maintenance, which varies as time goes. In this study, the authors developed the design and risk assessment techniques based on the reliability theories considering the uncertainties in load and resistance. For the probabilistic risk assessment of crack growth and the remaining life of the structures by the cyclic load of railway and subway bridges, response surface method (RSM) combined with first order second moment method were used. For composing limit state function, the stress range, stress intensity factor and the remaining life were selected as input important random variables to the RSM program. The probabilities of failure and the reliability indices of fatigue life for the considered specimen under cyclic loads were evaluated and discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.251-259
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• 2014

The transition zone between an earthwork and a bridge effect to the vehicle's running stability because support stiffness of the roadbed is suddenly changed. The design criteria for the transition structure on ballast track were not particular in the past. However with the introduction of concrete track is introduced, it requires there is a higher performance level required because of maintenance and running stability. In this present paper, a transition structure reinforced with geosynthetics is suggested to improve the performance of existing bridge-earthwork transition structures. The suggested transition structure, in which there is reinforcing of the approach block using high-tension geosynthetics, has a structure similar to that of earth reinforced abutments. The utilized backfill materials are cement treated soil and gravel. These materials are used to reduce water intrusion into the approach block and to increase the recycling of surplus earth materials. An experiment was performed under the same conditions in order to allow a comparison of this new structure with the existing transition structure. Evaluation items are elastic displacement, cumulative settlement, and earth pressure. As for the results of the real-scale accelerated testing, the suggested transition structure has excellent performance for the reduction of earth pressure and settlement. Above all, it has high resistance the variation of the water content.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.17-25
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• 2016

In this study, the air quality of underground and overground railway stations was evaluated focusing on the degree of influence of the outside air quality. The measured components were particulate matter ($PM_{10}$), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), formaldehyde (HCHO), ozone ($O_3$), total airborne bacteria (TAB), total volatile organic carbon (TVOC), and Radon (Rn), which are included in the maintenance standards and recommended standards of the Indoor Air Quality Management Act. Also, the indoor/outdoor concentration ratios of $PM_{10}$, $NO_2$, and $O_3$ were calculated to estimate the influence of the outdoor air quality. The concentrations of $PM_{10}$ HCHO, TVOC, $NO_2$, and Rn in the underground stations were found to be higher than those in the overground stations. These results indicate that the (present) generation of contaminants are caused by the indoor source of the underground station. The ozone concentration of the overground stations was higher than that of the underground stations, which indicates that the outdoor ozone concentration influenced that of the overground stations directly. Thus, methods of improving the IAQ should take into consideration the types of contamination.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.159-173
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• 2004

Using a generalized translog multiproduct cost function model, this paper examines economies of scale and scope in the vertically-integrated Korean railway industry. The paper then conceptualizes that the Korea National Railroad (KNR) produces four outputs (passenger-kilometers, ton-kilometers of freight, average length of passenger trips, and average length of freight haul) using three input factors(labor, fuel and maintenance, and rolling stock and capital). Using time series data collected from the KNR's annual records for the years from 1977 to 2002, the simultaneous equation system consisting of a cost function and two input share equatins is estimated with the Zellner's iterative seemingly unrelated regression. The findings show that the cost function corresponding to a non-Cobb-Douglas, non-homothetic, and non-homogeneous production technology adequately represents the KNR's cost structure. On the other hand, the Korean railway industry experiences sizeable overall scale economies, which result from substantial product-specific scale economies associated with passenger-kilometers and freight ton-kilometers and from scope economies associated with their joint production. In addition, the magnitude of economies of scope is influenced largely by the ratio of passenger trips, and has increased over time as the former has increased while the latter has decreased.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.41-46
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• 2010

With the improvement of industrial society, high quality electrical energy, simplification of operation and maintenance, and ensuring reliability are being required. Also we request an urgent change from $SF_6$ gas to an environment-friendly gas insulation material. In this paper, the experiments of breakdown characteristics by pressure and gap change of $N_2/O_2$ mixture gas through a GIS (Gas Insulated Switchgear) model were described. This paper reviews basic data of the surface discharge characteristics for Teflon resin in not only pure $N_2$, $N_2:O_2$ mixture gas as being focused on environmentally-friendly insulating gas, but also $SF_6$. Also, insulation characteristics by breakdown voltage and surface discharge voltage of $N_2:O_2$ mixture gas in the experimental chamber were studied.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.1689-1694
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• 2011

There are increasing customer's needs for safe operation and comfort of trains for the passengers as trains are getting fast and developed with advanced components. To meet the needs we developed the system which is able to prevent possible risk elements by transverse vibrations during the train operation. System records the amplitude data of trains vibration and location data from GPS antenna in real time. The system is composed of 5 different functioning modules as following GCPU, GGWD, GIFD, GAID and GPSD. GAID module is detecting amplitude value of vibration which is sensed by bogie hunting sensor's. GFID gets location information where vibration data is detected with GPS Antenna. Once those data is prepared, GCPU testify it's amplitude and decides whether it send those data. When it sends those recorded data, those data are sent to control unit by MVB communication. we expect that this information will help operation and maintenance engineers improve the safety train services. This paper explains train transverse Vibrations data recording system and its major functions which can measure the amplitude of trains's data during the operation and introduces the configuration for the system setup.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.1618-1628
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• 2011

The Train Diagnostic and Control System(TDCS) has been equipped on the modern Metro Vehicle, Locomotive and High Speed Train. The main purpose of this system is to support the identification of train status by real-time, the fast action against such failure events during revenue service and the fast convenient maintenance processes. Some of newest TCMS, a kind of control and monitoring system, has participated in the main control functions such as pantograph up and down, powering and braking command and so on. But these kind of control functions of the high speed train which has the operating speed over 300km/h are conducted by the train electrical logic circuits. The KTX-I and KTX-II - the local high speed train, are the typical example. The next generation TDCS for the ongoing project of distributed high speed train(HEMU) is designing with the target to increase main train control functions, to increase the reliability/avalibility and to increase the convenient driving. This paper introduces the overall configurations and functions of the new generation TDCS.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.861-864
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• 2011

Since national GHG reduction target by 2020 has been presented in Korea, the role of railroad has been reinforced within transport system due to the allocation of reduction target into sector. So, it is necessary to manage activity data systematically for the calculation of GHG emission in railroad. Now, the activity data of diesel consumption for NIR(National Inventory Report) are provided from oil supply and demand statistics. On the other hands, the activity data collected directly from railroad operating companies are used for GHG & Energy Target Management Act. This study aimed to assess the GHG emissions using two kinds of activity data related to the diesel consumption of railroad in 2009 and 2010. As a result, GHG emissions based on oil supply and demand statistics was 636 thousands ton $CO_{2e}$, but the activity data collected from railroad operating companies showed 649 thousands ton $CO_{2e}$ in 2009. Also, the gap of $CO_{2e}$ emission was increased in 2010. These trends were caused because oil supply and demand statistics included total diesel sales volume during 1 year and the activity data collected from railroad operating companies were the amount of diesel consumption only at railcar operation and maintenance step. In conclusion, it is important to develop the management and verification system of activity data with high reliability to substitute oil supply and demand statistics in railroad sector.