With city governments home and abroad planning to construct light rail trains flocking to benchmark the Daegu Monorail, which is noted as a major successful case study, Daegu is enjoying a heightened level of recognition as a leader of new transportation systems.

Employees from the Railway Operation Department of the Bucheon City Government visited the Metro Line 3 Train Depot in Dongho-dong, Buk-gu, on October 6. They were briefed on the technical characteristics and the overall process of building the Daegu Monorail and later visited the site and examined the interior and exterior of the train. They gave their thumbs up on what they found to be a great opportunity to see and experience the excellence and cutting-edge technology of the famous Daegu Monorail for themselves.

Upon observing the test run of the train moving soundlessly over a slim structure, Hong Seok-nam, Director of Railway Operation at Bucheon City Government, said, “This has been an amazing opportunity to resolve the misunderstanding and preconceptions the general public has about light rail transit.” He added, “We believe we have found the reason why we should strive to adopt the latest construction technique of using beams, rather than slabs, in constructing the Metro Line 1 and 2 light rail trains that are currently under consideration at Bucheon, as they will enhance the openness and beauty of our system.”

In addition to enhanced openness and beauty, Daegu Monorail boasts a state-of-the-art safety system, minimized platform stations, and pier construction. About 3,500 visitors from other cities in Korea, including Daejeon and Gwangju, and countries worldwide, notably Russia, Thailand and China, which are planning the construction of light rail trains, have already visited Daegu to benchmark its new train transportation system.

Equipped with the world’s largest span for guide beams (30 meters between two piers) and cutting-edge safety facilities, Daegu Monorail was introduced as a major success case at the International Monorail Conference held in Wuppertal, Germany, in September. The heightening global interest in its technology and construction process is expected to attract more visitors from abroad and enhance the position of Daegu as an international city.

Ahn Yong-mo, Chief of the Urban Railway Construction Bureau of Daegu City Government, said, “We are receiving an overwhelming inflow of requests for technical assistance from cities aiming to construct light rail trains. Their request centers on the selection of a system and the optimal construction techniques befitting the characteristics of their cities.” He added, “As Korea’s first monorail system, we will do our best to become a best practice case and standard for light rail trains home and abroad”.

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