LS

■ LS ELECTRIC will supply the power system for the yellow line railway in Kaohsiung, which is the second order after LS ELECTRIC supplied the system for the redline.
■ The order is expected to increase opportunities for LS ELECTRIC to invest in the railway infrastructure in Southeast Asia such as Taiwan and Thailand, accelerating the expansion of its footprint on the local market.

LS ELECTRIC succeeded in winning the contract to supply the power system for a KRW 266.8-billion urban railway project in Taiwan. 

LS ELECTRIC was selected as the sole operator of the urban railway power system for Yellow Line of Kaohsiung Metro. The project of KRW 266.8 billion (includes VAT) was ordered by the Kaohsiung City Mass Rapid Transit Bureau (KMRTB) of Taiwan. On October 18, the company announced that it had signed a turnkey supply contract with STEE (ST Engineering Electronics Limited), the company that will fully manage the E&M project.

Kaohsiung City (with a population of around 2.8 million) is a major port city in the southwestern region of Taiwan. Presently, a large-scale project to build an urban railway system is underway under the purview of the city government.

The Yellow Line, which is slated to be completed by the first quarter of 2034, will be 22.9km (23 stations) long and serve as a key route that intersects the city in 3 straight lines forming a ‘Y’ shape.

Last year, LS ELECTRIC was selected as the power system supplier for the northern extension of the Kaohsiung Metro Red Line. This is already the second time a supply contract was awarded to the company in the Kaohsiung urban railway project.

Buoyed by its success in winning the railway power system supply business in Taiwan, the company is on track to strengthen its foothold in the local market by expanding into Taiwan’s market for railway operation systems. 

Taiwan's market is expected to grow at an accelerated pace in the future with the government ramping up infrastructure investment. This includes the construction of new urban railway lines and the modernization of its aging railway network. With a growing economy, Taiwan has recently begun to focus on companies with high-quality construction work when they select partners for the national infrastructure projects. As a result, the Taiwan market has become a high-end market that is keenly attracting the participation of globally leading suppliers.

An official from LS ELECTRIC explained, “The Taiwan railway market was marked by a high entry barrier due to European and Japanese competitors. But owing to our track record of successful execution and reputation based on global urban railway projects such as the construction of the unmanned rail car control system for the Seoul LRT Sillim Line, the completion of the Kaohsiung Metro Red Line extension project, and the construction of the power system for Egypt’s monorail service, LS ELECTRIC achieved a milestone by winning this latest project.” Then he added, “We plan to actively penetrate the Southeast Asian market by supplying customers with transportation systems of the highest quality as governments in Southeast Asia actively pursue the improvement and expansion of their aging railway infrastructure.”