Seoul Subway, 18 Additional Runs on Lines 1, 3, and 4 During Railroad Union Strike

by Sung Kiho

Published 13 Sep.2023 19:48(KST)

Seoul City announced on the 13th that it will implement emergency transportation measures to minimize inconvenience in public transportation during the nationwide railway labor union (Railway Union) strike scheduled from the 14th to the 18th.

As the strike is expected to reduce the operation rate of metropolitan subway lines, Seoul Metro will increase the number of runs on Lines 1, 3, and 4, which are jointly operated with Korail, by 18 trips per day compared to usual and will have 4 emergency train sets on standby.

On the fifth day of the railway strike, on the 24th, a notice of suspension of some train operations appeared on the electronic display board at Seoul Station. The Railway Union is demanding an increase of 4,600 safety personnel due to the transition to a four-shift, two-team system, direct employment of irregular workers, and the integration of KTX and SRT. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The sections with increased service are Line 1 from Seoul Station to Cheongnyangni, Line 3 from Gupabal to Ogeum, and Line 4 from Danggogae to Sadang. Increasing the number of runs in this way can transport an additional 36,000 passengers per day.

Lines 1 to 8 operated by Seoul Metro, Seoul City’s privately operated Line 9, Sillim Line, and Ui-Sinseol Line will all operate normally.

For Seoul city buses, demand for trunk bus routes passing through Incheon and Gyeonggi will be closely monitored. If train delays cause severe bus congestion, flexible measures such as extending peak-hour dispatch times and adding extra buses will be applied.

The usual peak dispatch hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. for morning commute and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for evening commute. Seoul City explained that extending peak dispatch hours by 30 minutes during both commute times can transport an additional 41,000 passengers per day, and extending by 60 minutes can transport 84,000 more passengers.

The city is participating in the government joint emergency transportation headquarters starting from the day before the strike and plans to promptly monitor subway delays and congestion until the strike ends.