Seoul Metro Lines 2 and 3 New Electric Train Receives Korea's First Obstacle-Free Train Certification

Top Grade with 97 Points... Certified through Korea Disabled Development Institute... Improvements Including Wider Electric Vehicle Aisles and Use of International Standard Pictograms

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul Metro (President Kim Sang-beom, hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) received the highest grade certification for Barrier Free (BF) from the Korea Disabled Development Institute for 588 new trains on Lines 2 and 3 on the 4th.

The trains in question are newly introduced train cars (438 cars on Line 2, 150 cars on Line 3) that have been introduced since 2017 as part of the replacement project for aging trains.

Aisle Width Between Cars of New Electric Train

Barrier Free (BF) is a certification system that evaluates whether transportation-vulnerable groups can conveniently use various facilities and grants certification accordingly.

The Corporation proceeded with the certification process according to the Act on Promotion of Convenience for Transportation Vulnerable Groups to enhance the convenience of users including transportation-vulnerable groups, achieving the highest score of 97 points.

The evaluation items and scoring are based on 7 categories with a perfect score of 100 points: entrance passage (20 points), seats for transportation-vulnerable groups (30 points), installation of vertical handrails (20 points), disability access signs (9 points), automatic announcement facilities (6 points), electronic text display boards (9 points), and destination indicators (6 points).

In addition to the evaluation items, the Corporation attached the ‘international standard wheelchair pictogram’ so that all passengers, including foreigners, can easily recognize it.

Also, the passage between cars was widened to allow transportation-vulnerable groups to use the passage conveniently. Braille signs for the visually impaired were attached to the emergency communication devices and passage door opening switches.

The Corporation plans to ensure that all new trains to be introduced in the future, such as Lines 5 to 7, meet the BF certification standards and to develop and apply new systems to enhance the mobility convenience of transportation-vulnerable groups, such as a sign language display system.

The sign language display system is a new system that displays sign language on information displays to help hearing-impaired people who cannot hear announcements respond in emergency situations.

Han Jae-hyun, Head of the Vehicle Headquarters at Seoul Metro, stated, “We will continue to do our best to create an environment where transportation-vulnerable groups can ride and use the subway comfortably and conveniently.”

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