Britain seeks partnership with Korean transport firms

British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Mike Penning said Monday he is looking to build partnerships between Korean and British transportation-related companies concerning technology.

Speaking in a news conference in Seoul, the British minister said that he came to Korea to look into technology that can contribute to making transportation of London more environmentally clean.

“It is a big project with a 100-year-old metro and 10 million people living in London, to modernize it, to bring more electric (vehicles), environmentally friendly vehicles,” he said.

Penning also showed interest in more transportation technology than just electric cars.

The minister said, “I think environmentally friendly vehicles aren’t just the electric cars. The technology that reduces petroleum and clean diesel are also environmentally friendly.”

On future-oriented fuel, the minister mentioned water as one of the most desirable future fuels. “The fuel is also very important. If you can use water instead of burnable fuels, (it will be revolutionary.)”

During his four-day visit to Korea, he is scheduled to visit Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan on Tuesday. He will be taking the KTX to Busan as his first experience on Korean public transportation.

Penning also met with officials from Korea Railroad Research Institute to discuss U.K.-Korea collaboration on rail projects in other countries. He is also scheduled to visit the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The minister showed confidence in the transportation arrangements for the London Olympics.

“We are ready and ahead of schedule, and on budget,” he said.

About expected traffic congestion during the London Olympic Games, Penning said that it is difficult to deal with the problem by enforcing congestion tickets, or penalties for driving during high congestion times during the Games. He emphasized that the keyword for congestion regulations is letting people have a “choice.” Wealthy people can easily afford congestion tickets, whereas people with lower incomes cannot, he said.

About the question of whether public fares are too high in London, Penning answered that the British are satisfied with the general fare for public transportation.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)