Rail Union Strike Enters Fourth Day... Nationwide Train Operation Rate at 80.1%

KTX 76.5%·Passenger Trains 74.7%·Capital Region Subway 83.8%
Railway Union 1st Strike Until 9 AM on the 18th

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 17th, the fourth day of the nationwide railway labor union (Railway Union) strike, that it is making every effort to restore train operation rates and manage safety.

On the 15th, as the temporary strike by the National Railway Workers' Union continues, a train is stopped near the 수도권 Cheoldo Charyang Jeongbidan in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the Ministry, as of 9 a.m. today, the nationwide train operation rate was recorded at 80.1% of normal (409 out of 612 trains operating).

This is an increase of 9.3 percentage points from 3 p.m. the previous day (70.8%) and 0.9 percentage points from 9 a.m. (79.2%). It corresponds to 100.6% of the original plan.

The operation rates by train type are KTX 76.5% (65 out of 85 trains operating), passenger trains 74.8% (80 out of 107 trains operating), freight trains 47.4% (9 out of 19 trains operating), and metropolitan subway 83.8% (336 out of 401 trains operating).

The Ministry stated that since today is a holiday, operations are being flexibly managed according to congestion conditions.

In this regard, the Ministry deployed 1,335 substitute personnel to the field today, including 414 engineers, 293 train crew members, 515 vehicle maintenance staff, 62 station staff, and 141 power transmission personnel.

Additionally, 154 safety personnel were deployed at 33 major stations nationwide, and 22 railway police officers and railway safety supervisors were dispatched to the field to strengthen safety management.

The Railway Union announced that the strike is scheduled to end at 9 a.m. on the 18th.

According to the Ministry, as of 9 a.m. on that day, the strike participation rate was 29.5%, with 8,058 out of 27,305 employees subject to work participating in the strike.

The Railway Union has stated that if the Ministry and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) do not accept demands such as operating KTX trains to Suseo and full implementation of the 4-shift 2-team system, they will prepare for a second general strike. So far, the possibility of a dramatic agreement between labor and management appears low, indicating a potential for additional strikes. However, the union is reportedly not considering striking during the Chuseok holiday, when train demand is high.

The Ministry explained that it is maintaining a hotline with the union and leaving room for further negotiations.

Meanwhile, Minister Won Hee-ryong of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Han Moon-hee, President of Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), are scheduled to check the strike situation at the KORAIL Seoul Headquarters this afternoon and then visit the strike response site.

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