Monday, September 9th, 2013
SEOUL, KOREA- Hyundai Rotem, a Hyundai Motor Group company specializing in railroad car manufacturing, will partner with a Russian company to participate in the trans-Eurasian railway project. This is a move made in response to the latest summit meeting on September 6 in St. Petersburg in which Korean President Park Geun-hye said, "Strengthening ties with nations in Eurasia is one of the most important policy goals of our administration. My dream is to take the train through Russia all the way to the western tip of Europe from Busan."
Hyundai Rotem said on the 9th that high-ranking officials, including railway business division head Alexei Tishayev, from Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) would visit its rolling stock plant and R&D center in Changwon, near Busan, on the 10th. The two parties will discuss ways for mutual cooperation and technology transfers.
Uralvagonzavod, 100-percent owned by the Russian federal government, is one of the largest machine building companies in Russia including freight railcars, special vehicles, and military armored cars. Last year it had a sales revenue of US$6 billion while hiring 70,000 employees.
Since 2008, Hyundai Rotem has laid the groundwork for moving into the Russian market, including seminars, technology cooperation, and exchange visits with the likes of Russian Railways and Moscow Metro. It is also developing high-speed railcars customized for Russia's conditions in preparation for bids to supply 231 cars for Moscow Railroad circle lines (worth $400 million) and 2,500 high-end cars for Moscow Metro ($4.2 billion).