A South Korean bullet train linking the capital Seoul and the eastern city of Gangneung, some 240 km east of Seoul, resumed operations Monday after a derailment accident two days ago.
The KTX Gangneung Line, which opened in December 2017 ahead of the South Korea-hosted PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018, resumed normal operations early Monday morning, according to Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), the bullet train operator.
The resumed operation came after a bullet train, carrying 198 passengers, derailed about five minutes after departing from Gangneung city for Seoul early Saturday morning.
Sixteen passengers aboard the train were injured, but no fatality was reported.
The initial investigation showed an error in the railroad switch system, which controls tracks, could have caused the accident. Police in charge of railway affairs launched an internal probe to find out the exact cause of the incident.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said sorry to people for the accident, noting that it might have become a big disaster though it was not this time because the train was in a low-speed operation.
Moon said during a meeting with his senior secretaries earlier in the day that the accident aroused distrust among people whether their daily lives are safe, ordering officials to draw up measures to restore people's trust in the rail transport.
