eFM News

[Anchor]

President Moon Jae-in has ordered thorough safety checks on train services and strong measures to prevent accidents following a KTX train's derailment.

While operations of the bullet train on the Gangneung line resumed early this morning, railroad police are now conducting a preliminary investigation into the accident.

Our Hanna Choi reports.

[Reporter]

President Moon has apologized to the public and expressed regret that such an accident occurred at a time when Seoul is pushing for expanding railway services beyond its border to North Korea.

In a meeting with his aides this afternoon, Moon said he ordered strong measures to regain public trust toward train services.

He said safety checks should be carried out on new facilities as well as old ones, pointing out that it has been less than one year since the KTX Gangneung line opened.

On Saturday morning, a Seoul-bound train with nearly 200 passengers on board derailed just five minutes after leaving Gangneung Station, injuring more than a dozen people.

The train operator KORAIL said an error in the railroad switch system that controls the tracks likely caused the derailment amid a sharp drop in temperature.

While KTX trains are now running on a normal schedule, KORAIL said trains were reducing speeds to 40 kilometers per hour near the accident site.

Hanna Choi, eFM News.■