An Accident Every 5 Days... How Serious Is the 'Gimpo Golbyeong' Line?

It has been revealed that safety accidents have occurred on the Gimpo Urban Railway (Gimpo Gold Line), known as the 'hell train' where passengers collapse due to breathing difficulties, at a rate of once every five days this year.

Citizens who use the Gimpo Gold Line to commute to work often have to let 2 to 3 trains pass by during rush hours, and even if they are lucky enough to board a train, they express concerns about the risk of crush accidents.

On the 14th, at Pungmu Station on the Gimpo Gold Line in Gyeonggi, where passengers crowd during rush hour earning the notorious nickname "Hell Train," citizens are using the train amid ongoing issues such as patients experiencing breathing difficulties. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

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According to data disclosed on the 17th by Kim Ju-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gyeonggi Gimpo Gap), received from the Gimpo Urban Railway, a total of 18 safety accidents occurred on the Gimpo Gold Line from January this year until the 11th of this month. This means an accident occurred once every 5.6 days over 101 days.

By location, the most accidents occurred inside the trains with 7 cases, followed by 6 cases on the platform at Gimpo Airport Station. Previously, on the 11th, an incident occurred at Gimpo Airport Station on the Gimpo Gold Line where ten teenage female high school students and a woman in her 30s collapsed after experiencing breathing difficulties. On the 3rd, two passengers inside a train showed symptoms of panic disorder and vomiting immediately after getting off, respectively.

A citizen who has experienced fainting while using the Gimpo Gold Line said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 18th, "Even if I stand in the front row waiting to board the subway, there are times when no one can get on when the train arrives, and we just have to let it go," adding, "The entrance is so crowded that I often have to let one or two or three trains pass by."

The citizen revealed, "When I fainted, I was traveling from Pungmu Station to Gimpo Airport Station, which is two stops, but since many people were already on board from Gurae Station, I had no choice but to squeeze in from the entrance," and added, "At that time, I was under a lot of personal stress and had many things to worry about, and the crowd density was worse than usual that day, so it all combined and caused me to collapse."

However, it is expected to take time to alleviate the congestion problem on the Gimpo Gold Line. The Gimpo Gold Line, built as a two-car light rail, is structurally unable to add more trains.

Lawmaker Kim said he also considered expanding the subway platform but “I asked the Metropolitan Transport Committee (Daegwangwi) to review it, but since it is 60 meters underground, they said it is not possible due to safety concerns.”

Regarding the plan to extend Seoul Subway Line 5, he explained, "There are two conditions: an agreement between local governments and economic feasibility and validity, but the agreement between local governments is delayed now,” adding, "Since Incheon Seo-gu and Gimpo City are trying to secure favorable routes for themselves, this situation is currently happening.”

He said, "The immediate temporary measure is to reduce congestion," and added, "An order for additional train cars was placed in 2021. We plan to add 12 cars (6 sets of 2 cars each), but they can only be deployed next year. For now, we have proposed to the Metropolitan Transport Committee to provide free shuttle buses directly from Pungmu Station or Gochon Station to Gimpo Airport Station, and it is under review."

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