Hyundai Rotem signs high-speed rail car deal with Korail

Hyundai Rotem Co., a company under the Hyundai Motor Co. Group that specializes in manufacturing rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment, announced on Tuesday in a regulatory filing that it has signed a 710-billion-won ($547-million) contract with the state-run Korea Railroad Corporation for the Korail EMU-320.

The contract amount represents 24.7% of the company's recent sales revenue, and the contract period runs until March 27, 2028.

The EMU-320 is a distributed power unit that Hyundai Rotem first released in September last year, capable of reaching a top speed of 320 km/h.

Unlike power-concentrated train cars with power units only at the front and rear, distributed power train cars have power units distributed throughout all the cars, including passenger cars. This design allows for quick acceleration and deceleration and maintains speed even on curved tracks.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com