[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Rotem, a train-making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said on June 4 it has secured a 909.8 billion won (US$849 million) train order from the Taiwan Railways Administration, the operator of the nation's largest rail system.

The order marks the firm’s reentry into the Taiwanese market after a 19-year hiatus. All the cars will be delivered by 2024.

A TRA train arrives at a platform in Taipei.

Most of the 520 coaches will be built in Hyundai Rotem's plant in Changwon, 400 kilometers south of Seoul, and shipped to the Taiwanese train authorities.

In 1999, the company won an order to build 56 train cars for Taiwan. The country recently announced a plan to invest 35 trillion won to upgrade its railway systems and other infrastructure facilities over the next eight years.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)