(ATR) PyeongChang 2018 President Hee Beom Lee tells Around the Rings a shipping company will help in getting athletes' luggage from Incheon airport to the Olympic villages.
Lee confirmed that large pieces of luggage will not fit on the high speed rail link connecting Incheon and Seoul to PyeongChang and Gangneung. To solve the logistical problem, PyeongChang 2018 is preparing to work with Hanjin Logistics to haul luggage from the airport.
Hanjin Logistics, like the soon to be bankrupt Hanjin shipping, operates as a company under the Hanjin conglomerate. Hanjin chief executive Yang Ho Cho served as president of PyeongChang 2018 before Hee Beom Lee. A PyeongChang 2018 spokesperson could not confirm to ATR if the negotiations for the logistics contract started under President Lee or President Cho.
The high speed train, with a capacity of 410 passengers, is expected to run 41 times a day from Incheon to Gangneung. Lee said that the train will transport athletes, officials, and spectators, but with 12,000 passengers per hour arriving at peak times to Incheon Airport, buses will have to help handle the load.
"I have learned that some athletes carry some two tons of luggage, but as you mentioned the express train cannot carry that heavy luggage, so in that case we prepared trucks," Lee said to ATR. "We already have a contract with Hanjin shipping company for carrying all the luggage."
Since the trucks carrying luggage will take longer to rech their destinations than the high speed rail, Lee says Hanjin requested that "stress tests" be done before the Games to smooth the process. "Full insurance" will be provided for all luggage carried during the Games, Lee added.
Like transportation, PyeongChang organizers have had to deal with repeated questions over accommodations for the Games, given PyeongChang’s size and location. Lee says that organizers are still working with the Olympic family to provide enough hotel rooms, and mobile accommodations will be used during the Games.
"We are building the temporary houses and hotels are under construction," Lee said. "In terms of total quantities with the accommodations it is not a problem. Many NOCs, federations, and Olympic family are asking for high quality of accommodations like 4 and 5 star hotels. They are also asking accommodations not far from the venues. We are now reviewing it and we will look for solutions."
Written by Aaron Bauerin Gangneung
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