"Rode the Subway but No Seats"...Drastic Measures to Prevent Commuting Hell

From the 10th, one car of Seoul Subway Line 4 trains will operate without seats during commuting hours.

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Seoul Metro announced on the 9th that it will start a pilot project to remove seats from one car of Line 4 trains to alleviate subway congestion.

The company comprehensively reviewed congestion levels and onboard conditions and selected the 3rd car (the 4th or 7th car) with high congestion and fewer important components under the seats as the target car for seat removal.

In the third quarter of last year, the highest congestion level of one car on Line 4 was 193.4%, the highest among subway lines 1 to 8. Congestion level is the ratio of actual passengers to seating capacity, indicating how crowded the train is.

Seoul Metro expects that through this first-ever pilot project of removing seats, the maximum congestion level in one car of Line 4 trains could improve by up to 40%, and an additional boarding space of 12.6㎡ per car can be secured.

Baekho, President of Seoul Metro, said, "We are making various efforts to reduce congestion, such as increasing train frequency during rush hours and deploying safety assistants at major stations. If the congestion improvement effect of this pilot project is verified, we will consider expanding it so that citizens can use the subway more comfortably and safely."

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