'Cumulative Deficit of 25 Billion Won' Wolmi Sea Train... Incheon City Seeks Management Improvement Measures

Incheon City has begun preparing measures for the tourist monorail 'Wolmibada Train,' which has been running a deficit of tens of billions of won annually. On the 24th, the city announced that it recently held the first meeting of the Wolmibada Train Management Improvement Advisory Committee to discuss ways to improve operational profitability and revitalize the service.

During the meeting, topics such as developing tourism products linked to the city's old downtown revitalization project 'Jemulpo Renaissance' (a project to transform Incheon Inner Port and surrounding old downtown areas into a cultural, tourism, and industrial convergence city), improving facility design, and differentiated fare plans were discussed.

The city plans to operate the advisory committee, composed of 12 experts in four fields: operational improvement, content development, tourism and marketing, and facility improvement, to derive detailed action plans for improving the management of the Wolmibada Train and revitalizing local tourism by the end of the year.

In particular, the city sees that to increase the revisit rate of Wolmibada Train users, there must be many tourism elements. Therefore, it will focus on developing content linked to nearby tourist attractions such as the Maritime Museum, which is scheduled to open in June next year. Additionally, the city plans to find ways to attract more users, such as reboarding on the course or differentiating fares between weekends and weekdays.

Wolmibada Train
[Photo by Incheon City]

The Wolmibada Train, the longest urban tourist monorail in Korea, has been operating at an average annual deficit of 6 billion won since its opening in October 2019, with a current accumulated deficit reaching 25 billion won. The average daily number of users has gradually increased from 386 in 2021, when operations were limited due to COVID-19, to 790 in 2022, and 894 this year, with a cumulative passenger count reaching 640,000.

This year, on weekends and holidays, daily ridership exceeds 1,400, often resulting in sold-out rides. However, on weekdays, the number of users remains around 596, and chronic deficits continue due to worsening transportation revenue caused by increased electricity and labor costs.

Despite spending about 100 billion won of public funds, including 85.3 billion won in construction costs and financial expenses, the Wolmibada Train, which opened 11 years after construction began due to poor construction quality, has become a burden on the city's finances due to accumulating deficits after opening.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will gather various ideas from experts to improve the management environment and aim to revitalize tourism in the Wolmi area linked to Jemulpo Renaissance and restore the local commercial district."

The Wolmibada Train, which circles Wolmi Island in Incheon, operates with a two-car train set (capacity of 46 people). It departs from Incheon Station, the terminus of the Gyeongin and Suin Lines, and runs along a 6.1 km route with four stations: Wolmi Park Entrance, Culture Street, Immigration Museum, and others. Traveling at an average speed of 10 km/h, it takes 35 minutes to complete one lap around Wolmi Island, with an adult fare of 8,000 won.

The track of the Wolmibada Train is elevated 7 meters above ground, reaching up to 18 meters high, offering views of Wolmi Island's scenery, Incheon Inner Port, the West Sea, and even the distant Incheon Bridge.

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