Another Fainting Incident on Gimpo Gold Line... Citizens Frustrated Over Lack of Solutions

Passengers using the Gimpo Urban Railway (Gimpo Gold Line), which has been stigmatized as the "Hell Train," have once again collapsed from respiratory distress. A similar incident occurred on the Gimpo Gold Line during the heavy snowfall on December 21 last year.

Despite repeated accidents, the bigger problem is that there is no immediate solution to the overcrowding of passengers. Citizens using the Gimpo Gold Line complain that they face a daily battle during their commute amid fears of crush accidents.

The Gimpo Gold Line has faced complaints about passenger overcrowding since its opening in September 2019. Gimpo is a large city with a resident population exceeding 500,000 (including foreigners). However, the Gimpo Gold Line was originally designed with trains composed of two cars per set (no additional cars can be connected), making it impossible to accommodate a large number of passengers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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The external environment is also problematic. The Gimpo Gold Line is the only subway line connecting Gimpo and Seoul, making it inevitable for the population to concentrate there. Due to severe traffic congestion on National Road 48 and Olympic-daero, which connect Gimpo and Seoul, it is difficult to rely on other public transportation options such as buses as a solution.

Recently, during the morning rush hour (7 to 8 a.m.), about 370 passengers?2.2 times the train’s capacity of 172?boarded the train between Gochon Station and Gimpo Airport Station, raising growing concerns about crush accidents.

The "Voice of Customers" board on the Gimpo Gold Line website is flooded with complaints such as "Please prevent excessive boarding," "It feels like a crush accident will happen," and "Tired of breakdowns, delays, and the Hell Train."

Gimpo City expects that overcrowding will be partially alleviated when six additional train sets (12 cars) are added to the Gimpo Gold Line, which currently operates 21 train sets (42 cars), in September next year. However, there are no measures to reduce congestion until then.

Regarding safety concerns, Gimpo City stated that it is implementing facility improvements and deploying personnel to maintain order.

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