[photopress:parkGeunhye.jpg,full,alignright]In South Korea, Park Geun-hye, a strong presidential hopeful, has the idea of linking Chinese and South Korean ports by means of a ‘train-ferry.’ A train-ferry is equipped with rails on its deck to enable a train to move onto it. Twenty-six nations currently have something like that running.
During a visit to Yantai in Shandong Province where China has recently launched a transoceanic railway project, Park, the former chairwoman of the main opposition Grand National Party in South Korea, claimed the system would significantly reduce distribution costs.
She said, ‘The train-ferry can contribute to economic and trade development by reducing logistics costs. I heard China is also interested in connecting a (South) Korean port and a Chinese coastal city.’
The system is known to be effective on sea routes of less than 500 kilometers which can connect to long-distance railroads. Park Geun-hye suggested connecting Inchon to Yantai with such a system, which could cut the traveled distance from Pusan to Moscow by 1,000 kilometers and save 15 days in transporting freight.
She said, ‘The train-ferry line can link Inchon with Yantai and Dalian. Then the line could be extended to southern port cities in South Korea such as Pyongtaek, Kunsan and Mokpo.’
The scheme would bring a revolutionary change to Northeast Asia’s logistics system by shortening freight distances from Japan to Europe. Its chances of happening depend mainly on whether Park Geun-hye becomes president of South Korea.
The Korea Times