[Interview] Hyundai Rotem CEO Lee Yongbae: "We Will Give Our All in the 5 Trillion Won KTX Replacement Bidding War" [InnoTrans 2026]

49 Next-Generation KTX Trainsets Planned; 28 to Be Ordered Next Year
Foreign Participation a Key Factor... Alstom Likely to Show Interest
Hyundai Rotem and Hyundai Motor Jointly Develop Next-Generation High-Speed Train

"No one knows how the bidding will turn out. No one can guarantee a win or a loss. However, I believe we have developed a highly competitive high-speed train. We are determined to put all our energy into next year’s bidding process."

Yong Bae Lee, President of Hyundai Rotem, met with reporters at the Hyundai Rotem exhibition booth at 'InnoTrans 2026' held in Berlin, Germany on the 22nd (local time) to explain the next-generation high-speed train project. Hyundai Rotem.

Lee Yong-bae, CEO of Hyundai Rotem, has declared his commitment to the upcoming competition to win the next-generation high-speed train project, estimated to be worth about 5 trillion won. As the first-generation KTX (KTX-1), which began operation in 2004, approaches the end of its expected service life and is set for a full replacement, competition is heating up as global rail companies are also being mentioned as possible entrants into the Korean market.

On September 22 (local time), Lee made these remarks while meeting with reporters at the Hyundai Rotem exhibition hall during 'InnoTrans 2026,' the world’s largest railway trade fair held in Berlin, Germany, discussing the bidding process for next year’s next-generation high-speed train project.

KORAIL plans to introduce 49 trainsets, totaling 784 cars, for a 320 km/h distributed power high-speed train to replace the 46 KTX-1 trainsets and expand transport capacity and reserve rolling stock. The entire project is expected to be worth about 5 trillion won. Of this, the first batch of 28 trainsets (448 cars) will be ordered next year, with vehicles to be introduced sequentially starting in 2032.

This is an unmissable business opportunity for Hyundai Rotem. The KTX-1 was first introduced to Korea through a technology transfer contract with France’s Alstom in 1994. The initial 12 trainsets were produced as finished products in France, while the remaining 34 trainsets were manufactured in Korea by Hyundai Precision, Daewoo Heavy Industries, and Hanjin Heavy Industries. The rail vehicle businesses of these three companies were later integrated into what is now Hyundai Rotem. Domestic high-speed rail technology has since advanced into models such as KTX-Sancheon, KTX-Eum, and KTX-Cheongryong.

Lee cited Hyundai Rotem’s accumulated high-speed rail technology as the source of his confidence in this upcoming competition. He said, "In terms of functionality, we believe we are at a world-class level. We have taken great care in designing not just the exterior but also the interior of the train over a long period."

Hyundai Rotem unveiled its next-generation high-speed vehicle concept model at InnoTrans 2026 held in Berlin, Germany on the 22nd (local time). The exterior and interior designs were developed jointly with Hyundai Motor Group. Hyundai Rotem.

At this InnoTrans event, Hyundai Rotem also unveiled for the first time a next-generation high-speed vehicle concept model jointly developed with Hyundai Motor Group. Hyundai Motor Group’s Namyang Research Center and Hyundai Design Center collaborated on both the exterior and interior design, with a particular focus on optimizing the passenger user experience (UX) at the heart of the vehicle’s design.

This concept design serves more than just exhibition purposes. Hyundai Rotem intends to use it as the foundation for the vehicle designs for the 370 km/h-class EMU-370 (one trainset, 16 cars) ordered in August, as well as for the KTX-1 replacement project trains expected to be ordered next year. The KTX-1 replacement vehicles will be ordered as 320 km/h-class trains.

The exterior design in particular focused on reducing air resistance during high-speed operation. According to Hyundai Rotem, the aerodynamics development team at Hyundai Motor Group conducted 520 hours of aerodynamic analysis and wind tunnel testing, resulting in a reduction of the aerodynamic drag coefficient by about 36% compared to the KTX-Cheongryong, based on the concept model.

For the interior, passenger interviews and actual high-speed train riding experiences were used to improve aspects found inconvenient. Legroom and shelf space were increased, and the lower part of the windows was lowered to enhance the sense of openness.

Lee Wonsang, head of the Rail Solutions Research Center at Hyundai Rotem, said, "We surveyed high-speed train designs around the world, analyzed their strengths and weaknesses, and conducted interviews with customers. We looked into details such as foot space, head space, the sense of openness in the windows, and the inconvenience of using laptops in previous KTX models."

Lee Yong-bae, President of Hyundai Rotem, is seen leaving the video exhibition hall inside the Hyundai Rotem booth at “InnoTrans 2026” in Berlin, Germany, on the 22nd (local time) to have a standing interview with the press. Hyundai Rotem.

The reason Hyundai Rotem is investing so much in the design is that these high-speed trains will be in operation for decades to come.

Cho Ilyeon, chief of Hyundai Rotem’s Rail Solutions Business Division, stated, "Just like the existing KTX is reaching 30 years before retirement, these new trains will be used for at least 30 years and up to 40 years when factoring in upgrades. High-speed trains have moved beyond merely focusing on speed, performance, or power—now, the user experience has become critically important."

He added, "We have to make trains not only for passengers but also for those who operate and maintain them. Collaborating with Hyundai Motor is also aimed at creating world-class trains."

Whether overseas companies will join the competition is another variable. In previous high-speed rail tenders in Korea, collaboration between domestic and foreign companies has been attempted. In the 2023 tender for 136 EMU-320 cars by KORAIL, Hyundai Rotem and Woojin Industrial Systems competed; Woojin attempted a technical partnership with Spanish train manufacturer Talgo, but fell short of the technical evaluation benchmark, resulting in Hyundai Rotem winning the contract.

Next year’s project is on a much larger scale than that of the past. Since this will be an international competitive bid, there is a real possibility that major global railway companies might participate directly or team up with domestic firms.

On the possibility of foreign companies joining, Cho commented, "We don’t know for sure yet, but we believe there is certainly some interest." Regarding Alstom, which participated in the first-generation KTX project, he said, "Since this project is essentially replacing their previous supply, they are bound to be interested."

Hyundai Rotem emphasizes its accumulated high-speed train manufacturing experience and domestic supply chain as its competitive edge. According to Cho, "The localization rate for Korean high-speed trains is over 87%, and when including primary, secondary, and tertiary partners, about 200 companies in Korea are working together on this effort."

However, there are no additional points for localization rate in domestic bidding. Lee from the research center commented on overseas systems such as the 'Buy America' policy in the United States: "Other countries have mechanisms in place to protect their local industries, but such provisions do not exist here, which may disappoint our partner companies."

Hyundai Rotem intends to leverage domestic orders as a springboard for expanding into global high-speed rail markets. The company first exported its Korean high-speed trains to Uzbekistan in 2024, and more recently, there has been a push for an additional order of eight trainsets.

Cho said, "Compared to Alstom, Siemens, or China’s CRRC, we are still a latecomer in the high-speed rail space. In overseas markets, clients carefully consider how many high-speed rail projects companies have carried out and what track record they hold, not just in vehicle supply but also in maintenance and operation." He continued, "When it comes to winning overseas high-speed rail contracts, the most critical factor is to build this track record as quickly as possible."

Lee stressed that he would neither presume the results of the bidding nor give up on the competition until the end.

"You never know the outcome until the final announcement is made. We will give it our all and do our best to the end."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.