High-speed train comes to halt inside tunnel

GIMCHEON, South Korea, July 17 (Yonhap) -- A high-speed train traveling from the southeastern port city of Busan stopped abruptly inside a tunnel on its way to Seoul on Sunday, the latest incident in a series of technical problems for the bullet train, its operator said.
The KTX train had not moved after an hour since coming to an abrupt halt at about 11 a.m. inside Hwanghak Tunnel in Gimcheon, about 234 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said.
There were about 400 passengers aboard the Seoul-bound train, it said.
The company said it will soon use another train to tow the stopped train out of the tunnel.
A probe was under way to determine the exact cause of the stoppage with the company presuming a malfunction in the train's motor system.
KTX trains, in particular the model developed with homegrown South Korean technology, have faced numerous technical flaws in recent months.
In May, one such train stopped abruptly near Gimcheon due to an apparent malfunction in its brake system. Another KTX train derailed near Gwangmyeong Station, south of Seoul, in February due to a combination of human mistakes, including the loss of a nut in a device that controls track movement.