On the 27th of last month, at Sydney Central Station in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, a two-story electric train marked ‘Mariyung’ glided into the platform. Manufactured by Hyundai Rotem and launched in December of last year, the NIF (New Intercity Fleet) two-story electric train received final acceptance (FA) from the state government on the 3rd of last month and began full-scale operation. Upon entering the interior, a large wheelchair seating indicator for disabled passengers immediately caught the eye. The seats were arranged in groups of three per row instead of four, and the number of pillars inside the train was minimized, allowing passengers to move freely even with wheelchairs or bicycles. Greg Killeen, 63 years old, a member of the Spinal Injury Association who visited Central Station in a wheelchair, said, “Older trains tend to have more pillars inside, but this train has almost none, making movement convenient.” The design stood out for its consideration of mobility-challenged individuals, including low-height staircases and dedicated restrooms for disabled passengers. On the 27th, Hyundai Rotem's NIF (New Intercity Fleet) double-decker electric train appears at Sydney Central Station in New South Wales, Australia. /Hyundai Rotem ◇ The ‘Paper Train’ Revised 2,800 Times in Design The NIF two-story electric train symbolizes Hyundai Rotem’s first foray into the Australian market and its strengthened push for overseas expansion. In June 2016, the company secured a contract for 610 cars worth 1.5 trillion Korean won, completing deliveries by June of this year. The train is nicknamed the ‘paper train’ in Australia. A full-scale mock-up was created and reviewed 215 times over 13 months by groups including locomotive unions, disability associations, guide dog associations, and bicycle associations. This process generated thousands of paper documents, with 2,871 design and feedback items incorporated. A Hyundai Rotem official stated, “Following Australia’s local culture, including its Disability Discrimination Act, the government requested special designs for diverse stakeholders, including transportation-vulnerable groups, from the bidding stage. This involved exchanging several times more documents compared to other projects.” Interior view of Hyundai Rotem's NIF (New Intercity Fleet) double-decker electric train. /Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem’s focus on the demanding Australian market stems from its high profitability. The company has secured contracts worth 2.7 trillion Korean won in Australia alone—the largest single-country order in its history. The Australian government announced last year a budget plan to invest approximately 28 trillion Korean won in railway infrastructure over the next decade, ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. ◇ Technologies Unseen in Domestic Low-Cost Competition In South Korea, Hyundai Rotem has ceded market share to smaller companies due to lowest-bid procurement practices, severely impacting the profitability of its railway division. Domestic railway bids follow a two-stage process: meeting minimum criteria in the first stage and submitting the lowest price in the second, even if technical capabilities or on-time delivery guarantees are lacking. A source from the railway industry remarked, “The unit price for trains exported to Australia is more than double that of domestic units.” “In Korea, vehicles must be priced low, making it difficult to apply advanced technologies even if they exist.” The trains Hyundai Rotem supplies to Australia incorporate future technologies not found domestically. The new train, scheduled for initial delivery in 2027 after local assembly, will feature an ‘Electric Leveling Control’ (ELC) system—a first for electric trains. This technology allows the train to adjust its height automatically using suspension systems based on station information, minimizing gaps between the train and platforms. A ‘train-platform gap correction device’ will also be installed. A Hyundai Rotem official explained, “Australia’s aging infrastructure means platform heights and gaps vary widely between stations, so these features were added for safety.” ◇ Transforming the ‘Sore Finger’ Railway Business Hyundai Rotem’s two core businesses are railways, focusing on high-speed trains and electric trains, and defense, centered on the K2 tank. Founded in 1977 to manufacture freight trains, it remains the only South Korean company capable of producing high-speed trains domestically. While its defense business has thrived recently, the railway division has struggled, earning the label ‘sore finger.’ In 2023, railway sales were approximately 1.5 trillion Korean won, lagging behind defense sales (around 2.4 trillion Korean won) by nearly 900 billion Korean won. In the 2010s, railway sales exceeded double those of defense, but this reversed in 2023. Operating profit margins have also stagnated at 1–2% since the 2020s. However, recent overseas orders, particularly from Australia, have improved performance. From January to September of this year, operating profit increased by 16% year-on-year to 17.7 billion Korean won. The 2016 Australian project has become a ‘model case’ for overseas orders. In February, the company secured South Korea’s largest-ever overseas railway contract (approximately 2.2 trillion Korean won) in Morocco. In 2024, it also won contracts in Los Angeles (approximately 870 billion Korean won), Boston (570 billion Korean won), and Uzbekistan (270 billion Korean won). By the third quarter of this year, Hyundai Rotem’s railway order backlog reached 18.02 trillion Korean won, a 32% increase from the same period last year (13.6563 trillion Korean won). Hyundai Rotem’s ability to surpass global leader China in markets like Australia is attributed to its reputation for reliability. The world’s top railway company is CRRC Corporation Limited of China (23.4% market share), followed by European and Japanese firms. Hyundai Rotem, South Korea’s largest railway company, ranks 13th. Kim Jeong-hoon, head of Hyundai Rotem’s Railway Business Division (executive managing director), said, “Chinese companies often submit low initial bids but face delays and quality issues during project execution.” “Queensland chose us based on trust in timely delivery, as the project is tied to the 2032 Summer Olympics.”
