Seoul Subway to Operate Trains Only Until Midnight Starting April 1

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 27th that it has agreed with Seoul Metro, Seoul Metro Line 9 Co., Ltd., and Uisinseol Light Rail Co., Ltd. to limit train operations, including subways, to midnight starting from the 1st of next month. This applies to Seoul Subway Lines 1 through 9 and the Uisinseol Line.

The last train departure times vary by line and station. The revised timetable will be announced on the operating agencies' websites and at each station.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained the reason for the reduced operation hours as "to secure a sustainable citizen safety and quarantine system and to guarantee rest for quarantine workers."

Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the workload for disinfecting train cars has increased by 13.9 times, and the workload for disinfecting platforms and stations has increased by 8 times, leaving insufficient time for safety management tasks such as facility maintenance and aging infrastructure improvements, according to Seoul city.

Seoul stated that after the COVID-19 alert level was raised to "serious," subway ridership decreased by 40.5% compared to the previous year, and the number of passengers after 11 p.m. dropped to about half of the previous year's level.

Accordingly, the number of passengers per car during the late-night hours from 11 p.m. to midnight is only 14.4, and during the midnight to 1 a.m. period, it is just 6.4 passengers per car, Seoul city explained.

However, Seoul announced that buses and taxis will continue to operate as usual. This measure is intended to secure nighttime transportation rights in response to the shortened subway train operations, Seoul city explained.

Seoul added, "We will review the resumption of operations after midnight based on the future trend of COVID-19 spread, citizen safety and quarantine quality, and public transportation usage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.