New rail-marine freight route to start

Korea will introduce a new shipping system using railroad and marine routes for transporting freight between Korea and Japan, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said yesterday.
The service directly linking Seoul, Oksaka and Tokyo will start Monday and cut shipment fees by one third compared to the air cargo system, the ministry said. Transporting five tons of freight using the new route will cost 1.5 million won ($1.6 million), whereas air service requires 5 million won for the same volume. Transport hours, including loading time via the railroad-maritime route, will be 44 hours, close to the time required for the air route.
“The new transport system will contribute to cheaper and faster shipments of those goods that are smaller in size but higher in value,” said the Construction Ministry.
The route has the potential of expanding to China in the longer term, said a ministry official.
The service will adopt 12-foot, small-sized containers, which could have made it impossible for railroad transportation, because Korea has only two container standards of 20-feet and 40 feet. But Korea resolved the problem by using a multi-container that can accommodate three 12-foot containers at the same time.

By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]