For my readers in South Korea, bundle up because it is cold out there:
An icy cold wave that spread frigid winds over the weekend is expected to continue throughout the week, meteorologists said Sunday, urging caution over slippery roads, freezing and bursting water meters and other damage.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issued cold wave advisories and warnings for most parts of the country, saying the ongoing cold spell is caused by a southward inflow of cold air from Siberia.
Midday highs remained at around minus 8 degrees Celsius across the country on Sunday. On Monday, morning lows in Seoul are forecast to be minus 11 degrees and midday highs minus 2 degrees. (…….)
Amid the cold weather, the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) reported damage to a Mokpo Station-bound KTX carrying 788 passengers, saying that windows on the bullet train were cracked at around 10:10 p.m. on Saturday.
KTX train windows are double-glazed, and this time the outer parts of the windows cracked, according to the company. The accident caused no injuries or disruptions to operation of other trains.
“While outside parts of the windows of the train have become weak due to the cold weather, some of them were cracked after they were hit by pebbles,” a KORAIL official said.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
These new GTX trainlines will connect northern Gyeongi and parts of Gangwon provinces to Seoul in about 30 minutes. The hope is that these express trains will push development furhter away from Seoul in an effort to decrease property prices in the city:
President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) speaks during a public meeting over intercity transport on a train at Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 6, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Monday to move up the completion of the Great Train Express (GTX) commuter rail networks as he visited a train station in Seoul’s suburbs to check progress on a new service line.
The GTX networks are set to enter service next year, starting in March with the GTX-A line connecting Suseo Station in Seoul’s Gangnam Ward with Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of the capital.
The GTX-C line connecting Yangju, 29 km north of Seoul, to Suwon, just south of the capital, is set to begin construction at the end of the year, while the GTX-B line connecting Incheon, just west of Seoul, to Namyangju, just east of the capital, will begin construction early next year.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It looks like China is trying to get business back to usual with North Korea despite their continuing COVID protocols:
Cargo train operation between North Korea and China is likely to continue, a South Korean government official said Tuesday, citing Beijing’s confirmation of its resumption following a five-month suspension.
On Monday, a freight train from the Chinese border city of Dandong was seen crossing a railway bridge over the Amnok River toward North Korea for the first time since late April.
Speaking at a press briefing later in the day, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, confirmed the resumption of the train service linking Dandong and the North’s border city of Sinuiju.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
