Baekho, President of Seoul Metro, "Where Does the Innovation Race End?"

Since CEO Baek's Inauguration: ▲Operation of Seatless Train Cars During Commute Hours ▲Inspection of Track and Facility Defects Using Drones ▲Promotion of Tagless Fare Payment System and Other Continuous Innovation Announcements to Enhance the Corporation's 'Status'

Baekho, President of Seoul Metro, has been receiving applause for initiating a series of innovations since his inauguration.

Since taking office, President Baekho has launched groundbreaking innovations such as operating trains without seats during rush hours, conducting defect inspections using drones, and introducing a tagless fare payment system, marking a new level of progress compared to the past.

He has achieved what no previous president has accomplished within just five months of his tenure, attracting attention.

◇Seats disappear from rush hour subway trains... Pilot introduction on Lines 4 and 7 to improve in-train congestion

The corporation plans to conduct a pilot project starting January next year to remove seats from two cars of subway trains on Lines 4 and 7 during rush hours to alleviate subway congestion.

According to Seoul Metro on the 1st, the corporation will comprehensively review subway line conditions and in-train environments to select cars with high congestion during rush hours and fewer important components under the seats to prioritize the project. This is one of the measures to improve in-train congestion, alongside the 'Platform Congestion Improvement Plan' announced by the corporation on the 6th of last month. The project is scheduled to be implemented in January next year.

The appearance of the Seoul Subway Line 4 train car seats after improvement. (Photo by Seoul Metro)

According to the corporation, the maximum congestion rates for one car on Lines 4 and 7 (as of Q3 2023) are 193.4% and 164.2%, respectively. Congestion rate is a figure indicating how many people are on a train, calculated by dividing the actual number of passengers by the seating capacity.

The corporation expects that through the pilot project removing seats, the maximum congestion rates per car on Lines 4 and 7 will decrease to 153.4% and 130.1%, respectively.

Ahn Sang-deok, Head of the Vehicle Headquarters at the corporation, said, "We judged that removing seats would reduce crowd density by the space freed up, thereby lowering congestion rates." He added, "In 2005, we removed seats and installed foldable seats, but we abandoned the idea due to injuries, seat damage, and maintenance issues. This time, instead of foldable seats, we will conduct a trial run with about two cars featuring an open design and also carry out a public preference survey."

Additionally, the corporation has set a long-term goal to fundamentally resolve subway congestion by introducing 30 additional cars in three trainsets on Line 4 and 8 cars in one trainset on Line 7. They plan to expedite the introduction and improve cost efficiency by integrating orders or modifying contracts when commissioning the replacement of aging electric trains.

President Baekho stated, "The corporation is making various efforts to reduce subway congestion, including increasing train frequency during rush hours and hiring congestion safety assistants at major stations. If the pilot project proves effective, we will expand it so that citizens can use the subway more comfortably and safely."

Subway Facility Inspection Using Drones

◇Seoul Metro uses ultra-high-definition drones for underground tunnel inspections

In September, the corporation successfully conducted three rounds of tests deploying drones at Dangsan Railway Bridge and the tunnel at Cheongnyangni Station on Line 1, verifying the effectiveness of core drone control functions such as autonomous flight and real-time video transmission.

The corporation plans to link the drone control system with the smart integrated control system, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. This system will enable drone inspections of facilities in areas where GPS signals are unavailable, such as inside tunnels, under railway bridges, and beneath bridge piers, where autonomous drone navigation is currently impossible.

The drone control system will apply point cloud-based drone control technology. The corporation plans to showcase this proprietary technology in the 'CES Innovation Awards' category in 2024.

President Baekho said, "By utilizing drones to proactively detect facility abnormalities, we will prevent citizen disasters and build a safer subway environment."

◇Promotion of tagless fare payment system introduction

The corporation currently operates a fare system where passengers touch transportation cards, but plans to introduce a system where fares are automatically charged when passengers pass through gates after installing an app on their smartphones.

This will make subway use much more convenient for passengers.

With President Baekho, a former Director of Urban Transportation for Seoul City, taking office, Seoul Metro has been rolling out advanced improvements from the perspective of subway users one after another.

A senior official at the corporation said, "As a top expert in the transportation field, President Baekho has announced successive innovative measures since his inauguration, changing the atmosphere of the corporation. These innovation cases will lay the foundation for further development as the world's leading subway operator."

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