Seoul City Finalizes Wirye Line Tram Vehicle Design... To Operate from 2025

Final Approval of the City Public Design Promotion Committee's Review

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the final selected design for the Wirye Line tram (streetcar) vehicle on the 27th, following expert advisory meetings (2 sessions) since last September, on-site citizen preference surveys, M-voting polls, and review by the Seoul Public Design Promotion Committee.

The selected vehicle design features a streamlined and stable exterior with a purple accent symbolizing harmony among the three cities belonging to Wirye New Town (Songpa-gu in Seoul, Seongnam-si in Gyeonggi-do, and Hanam-si in Gyeonggi-do). The purple is a midpoint color between the common colors of the three city logos, red and blue.

A total of 6,525 people participated in the on-site preference survey and Seoul M-voting (mobile voting) conducted before the Seoul Public Design Promotion Committee’s review. The results showed that the purple exterior option 3 and the blue interior option 2 were the most preferred. Additionally, among 6,269 participants, 3,019 (48%) voted for option 2, which applied blue-toned seats inside the vehicle. Among the designs selected through expert advisory meetings, the purple exterior (option 3) and blue interior (option 2) were decided through citizen participation.

The purple exterior color of the vehicle is similar to the color of the robe worn by King Onjo of Baekje, who established Wirye New Town (Wirye Fortress) as the first capital, symbolizing elegance and splendor. The vehicle interior features widened aisles and panoramic windows to enhance lighting and openness, and the application of blue-toned seat cushions is expected to provide comfort.

The Wirye Line (tram) is an eco-friendly new transportation project connecting a total length of 5.4 km from Macheon Station (Line 5) to Bokjeong Station (Line 8 and Suin-Bundang Line) and Namwirye Station (Line 8) to alleviate traffic congestion and improve public transportation convenience in Wirye New Town, a large-scale new town located south of Songpa-gu in southeastern Seoul. It is scheduled to open in September 2025.

Kim Seong-bo, Director of the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters of Seoul, said, “We appreciate the great interest and participation in the vehicle design resident preference survey. We will complete the detailed design by February next year and deliver a total of 10 trainsets to the Wirye Line main line by January 2025. We will thoroughly supervise to ensure the safe production of the country’s first catenary-free tram to be commercialized.”

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