Korea Train eXpress (), often known as KTX (), is
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
's
high-speed rail
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
system, operated by
Korail. Construction began on the high-speed line from
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
to
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
in 1992. KTX services were launched on April 1, 2004.
From
Seoul Station
Seoul Station is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.
Services
KTX
Seoul Station is the terminus of most ...
the KTX lines radiate with stops at
Seoul Station
Seoul Station is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.
Services
KTX
Seoul Station is the terminus of most ...
,
Yongsan station towards
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
and
Gwangju
Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...
. A new line from
Wonju
Wonju () is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. Wonju was the site of three crucial battles during the Korean War.
Geography
Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangw ...
to
Gangneung
Gangneung () is a municipal city in the province of Gangwon-do, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 213,658 (as of 2017).Gangneung City (2003)Population & Households. Retrieved January 14, 2006. Gangneung is the economic ...
was completed in December 2017 to serve the
2018 Winter Olympics in
Pyeongchang.
Top speed for trains in regular service is currently , though the infrastructure is designed for . The initial rolling stock was based on
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
's
TGV Réseau
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to ...
, and was partly built in Korea. The domestically developed
HSR-350x
HSR-350x, alternatively called G7, KHST or NG-KTX, is a South Korean experimental high-speed train. It was developed and built in a joint project of government research institutes, universities and private companies that started in 1996, which aim ...
, which achieved in tests, resulted in a second type of high-speed trains now operated by Korail, the
KTX Sancheon
The KTX-Sancheon (formerly called the KTX-II) is a South Korean high-speed train built by Hyundai Rotem in the second half of the 2000s and operated by Korail since March 2009. With a top speed of , the KTX-Sancheon is the second commercial hi ...
. The next generation KTX train,
HEMU-430X
HEMU-430X (standing for High-Speed Electric Multiple Unit 430 km/h eXperimental) is a South Korean high-speed train intended for a maximum speed of . On March 31, 2013, it achieved 421.4 km/h in a test run, making South Korea the wor ...
, achieved 421.4 km/h in 2013, making South Korea the world's fourth country after
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to develop a
high-speed train
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
running on conventional rail above 420 km/h.
History
Origins of the project
The Seoul-Busan axis is Korea's main traffic corridor. In 1982, it represented 65.8% of South Korea's population, a number that grew to 73.3% by 1995, along with 70% of freight traffic and 66% of passenger traffic. With both the
Gyeongbu Expressway and
Korail's
Gyeongbu Line
The Gyeongbu Line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest ones in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. ...
congested as of the late 1970s, the government saw the pressing need for another form of transportation.
The first proposals for a second Seoul-Busan railway line originated from a study prepared between 1972 and 1974 by experts from France's
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
and the Japan Railway Technical Service on a request from the
IBRD
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers l ...
. A more detailed 1978-1981 study by
KAIST
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first public, resear ...
, focusing on the needs of freight transport, also came to the conclusion that separating long-distance passenger traffic on a high-speed passenger railway would be advisable, and it was adopted in the following Korean
Five Year Plan.
During the following years, several feasibility studies were prepared for a high-speed line with a Seoul–Busan travel time of 1 hour 30 minutes, which gave positive results. In 1989, following the go-ahead for the project, the institutions to manage its preparation were established: the Gyeongbu High Speed Electric Railway & New International Airport Committee, and the High Speed Electric Railway Planning Department (later renamed HSR Project Planning Board). In 1990, the planned Seoul–Busan travel time was 1 hour 51 minutes, the project was to be completed by August 1998, and costs were estimated at 5.85 trillion
South Korean won
The Korean Republic won, unofficially the South Korean won ( Symbol: ₩; Code: KRW; Korean: 대한민국 원) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used f ...
in 1988 prices, 4.6 trillion of which were to be spent on infrastructure, the remainder on rolling stock.
As planning progressed, the Korea High Speed Rail Construction Authority (KHSRCA) was established in March 1992 as a separate body with its own budget responsible for the project. In the 1993 reappraisal of the project, the completion date was pushed back to May 2002, and cost estimates grew to 10.74 trillion won. 82% of the cost increase was due to a 90% increase in unit costs in the construction sector, mostly labour costs but also material costs, and the remainder due to alignment changes. To finance the project, the option of a
build-operate-transfer (BOT) franchise was rejected as too risky. Funding included direct government grants (35%), government (10%) and foreign (18%) loans, domestic bond sales (31%) and private capital (6%).
Creation of the system
Start of high-speed line construction
KHSRCA started construction of the Seoul–Busan
Gyeongbu high-speed railway
The Gyeongbu high-speed railway, also known as Gyeongbu HSR, is South Korea's first high-speed rail line from Seoul to Busan. KTX high-speed trains operate three sections of the line: on April 1, 2004, the first between a junction near Geumcheo ...
(Gyeongbu HSR) on June 30, 1992, on the long section from
Cheonan to
Daejeon
Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...
, which was intended for use as test track.
Construction started before the choice of the main technology supplier, thus alignment design was set out to be compatible with all choices. Of the planned line, would be laid on bridges, and another in tunnels. However, plans were changed repeatedly, in particular those for city sections, following disputes with local governments, while construction work suffered from early quality problems.
Planned operating speed was also reduced from to the maximum of high-speed trains on the market. Three competitors bid for the supply of the core system, which included the rolling stock,
catenary
In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field.
The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superfici ...
and signalling: consortia led by GEC-Alsthom, today Alstom, one of the builders of France's
TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
trains;
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
, one of the builders of Germany's
ICE
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
trains; and
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
, one of the builders of Japan's
Shinkansen
The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...
trains.
In 1994, the alliance of GEC-Alsthom and its Korean subsidiary Eukorail were chosen as winner.
The technology was almost identical to that found on the high-speed lines of France's TGV system.
Track-related design specifications included a design speed of and
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
.
Phase 1: Seoul–Daegu and conventional line upgrades
Following the
1997 Asian Financial Crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
, the government decided to realise the Gyeongbu HSR in two phases. In a first phase, two-thirds of the high-speed line between the southwestern suburbs of Seoul and
Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
would be finished by 2004, with trains travelling along the parallel conventional line along the rest of the Seoul–Busan route. The upgrade and electrification of these sections of the Gyeongbu Line was added to the project, and also the upgrade and electrification of the
Honam Line
{{Infobox rail line
, box_width = auto
, name = Honam Line
, other_name =
, native_name = 호남선(湖南線)
, native_name_lang = kr
, color =
, logo =
, logo_width =
, logo_alt =
, image = Korail H ...
from Daejeon to Mokpo, providing a second route for KTX services. The budget for the first phase was set at 12,737.7 billion won, that for the entire project at 18,435.8 billion won in 1998 prices. While the share of government contributions remained unchanged, the share of foreign loans, domestic bond sales and private capital changed to 24%, 29% and 2%.
The infrastructure and rolling stock were created in the framework of a technology transfer agreement, which paired up Korean companies with core system supplier Alstom and its European subcontractors for different subsystems.
Alstom's part of the project amounted to US$2.1 billion
or €1.5 billion.
Well ahead of the opening of the Gyeongbu HSR for regular service, in December 1999, of the test section, later extended to , was finished to enable trials with trains. After further design changes, the high-speed tracks were finished over a length of , with of interconnections to the conventional Gyeongbu Line, including at a short interruption at Daejeon.
The high-speed section itself included of viaducts and of tunnels. Conventional line electrification was finished over the across Daegu and on to Busan, the across Daejeon, and the from Daejeon to Mokpo and Gwangju.
After 12 years of construction and with a final cost of 12,737.7 billion won,
the initial KTX system with the first phase of the Gyeongbu HSR went into service on April 1, 2004.
Phase 2: Daegu–Busan, extra stations, urban sections
The Daegu–Busan section of the Gyeongbu HSR became a separate project with the July 1998 project revision, with a budget of 5,698.1 billion won, with funding from the government and private sources by the same ratios as for phase 1. In August 2006, the project was modified to again include the Daejeon and Daegu urban area passages, as well as additional stations along the phase 1 section. For these additions, the budget as well as the government's share of the funding was increased.
Construction started in June 2002. The line, which follows a long curve to the northeast of the existing Gyeongbu Line, includes 54 viaducts with a total length of and 38 tunnels with a total length of .
The two largest structures are the Geomjeung Tunnel, under
Mount Geumjeong at the Busan end of the line; and the Wonhyo Tunnel,
under Mount Cheonseong south-west of Ulsan, which will be the longest and second longest tunnels in Korea once the line is opened.
A long dispute concerning the environmental impact assessment of the Wonhyo Tunnel, which passes under a wetland area,
caused delays for the entire project. The dispute gained nationwide and international attention due to the repeated hunger strikes of a Buddhist nun, led to a suspension of works in 2005, and only ended with a supreme court ruling in June 2006.
With the exception of the sections across Daejeon and Daegu, the second phase went into service on November 1, 2010. By that time, 4,905.7 billion won was spent out of a second phase budget, or 17,643.4 billion won out of the total.
The two sections across the urban areas of Daejeon and Daegu, altogether , will be finished by 2014.
As of October 2010, the total cost of the second phase was estimated at 7,945.4 billion won, that for the entire project at 20,728.2 billion won.
The last element of the original project that was shelved in 1998, separate underground tracks across the Seoul metropolitan area, was re-launched in June 2008, when an initial plan with a long alignment and two new stations was announced.
Further upgrades of connecting conventional lines
The electrification and the completion of the re-alignment and double-tracking of the
Jeolla Line
The Jeolla Line is a railway line in North and South Jeolla Provinces in South Korea. The line is served by frequent passenger trains from Seoul (via the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines) to Yeosu.
History
The first railway along a section of what bec ...
, which branches from the Honam Line at
Iksan
Iksan ( ko, 익산; ) is a city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, (commonly transliterated as Jeollabuk-do or Chollabuk-do) South Korea.
The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan ...
and continues to
Suncheon and
Yeosu
Yeosu (; ''Yeosu-si''), historically also Yosu, and known to the Japanese as Reisui during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, is a city located on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula in South Jeolla Province, South Korea an ...
, began in December 2003, with the aim to introduce KTX services in time for the
Expo 2012
Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea () was an International Exposition recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) held in Yeosu, South Korea which opened May 12, 2012 and ran until August 12, 2012. The theme of the Expo was "The Living Oc ...
in Yeosu.
The upgrade will allow to raise top speed from .
The section of the perpendicular
Gyeongjeon Line
The Gyeongjeon Line (''Gyeongjeonseon'') is a railway line serving South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla Provinces in South Korea. It covers a total of 300.6 km, from Samnangjin Station in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, to Gwangju Songjeong Statio ...
from
Samnangjin
Samnangjin (also spelled Samrangjin) or Samnangjin-eup, is an ''eup'', or town, in Miryang City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. It is composed of thirteen ''ri''. Samnangjin lies in the southeastern corner of Miryang, bordering Wondong-myeon ...
, the junction with the Gyeongbu Line near Busan, to Suncheon is upgraded in a similar way, with track doubling, alignment modifications and electrification for .
The until Masan was opened on December 15, 2010.
The upgrade is to be complete until Jinju by 2012 and Suncheon by 2014.
The top speed of the
AREX
AREX (Airport Railroad Express) is a South Korean commuter rail line that links Incheon International Airport with Seoul Station via Gimpo International Airport. The section between the two airports opened on March 23, 2007, and line was exten ...
line, Seoul's airport link, is to be raised from for the KTX.
The
Ulsan
Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...
–
Gyeongju
Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...
–
Pohang
Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...
section of the
Donghae Nambu Line
The Donghae Nambu Line is a railway line connecting Busan to Pohang in South Korea. The line runs along South Korea's east coast. On December 30, 2016, it was merged into Donghae Line.
History
On October 31, 1918, an extension of the Daegu Line ...
is foreseen for an upgrade in a completely new alignment that circumvents downtown Gyeongju and connects to the
Gyeongbu High Speed Railway
The Gyeongbu high-speed railway, also known as Gyeongbu HSR, is South Korea's first high-speed rail line from Seoul to Busan. KTX high-speed trains operate three sections of the line: on April 1, 2004, the first between a junction near Geumcheo ...
at
Singyeongju Station, allowing for direct KTX access to the two cities. On April 23, 2009, the project was approved by the government and a ground-breaking ceremony was held.
The altogether line is slated to be opened in December 2014.
On September 1, 2010, the South Korean government announced a strategic plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020.
The main new element of the plan is to aim for top speeds of in upgrades of much of the mainline network with view to the introduction of KTX services.
The conventional lines under the scope of the plan include the above, already on-going projects, and their extensions along the rest of the southern and eastern coasts of South Korea, lines along the western coast, lines north of Seoul, and the second, more easterly line between Seoul and Busan with some connecting lines.
Further high-speed lines
Honam HSR
Until 2006,
the first plans for a second, separate high-speed line from Seoul to Mokpo were developed into the project of a line branching from the Gyeongbu HSR and constructed in two stages, the Honam High Speed Railway (Honam HSR).
The budget for the first stage, from the new
Osong Station
Osong station is a train station on the Honam and Gyeongbu high-speed railways in Cheongju City, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at the intersection of the Gyeongbu KTX high-speed rail line, the conventional Chungbuk Line ...
on the Gyongbu HSR to
Gwangju·Songjeong Station
GwangjuSongjeong Station (formerly Songjeong-ri Station) is a station in Gwangju, South Korea. It is on the national high-speed KTX railway network, 341 km south of Yongsan Station.
History
The station opened on November 1, 1914, and the bu ...
, was set at 8,569.5 billion won.
The second stage, the remaining to Mokpo, was to be finished by 2017 with a budget of 2,002.2 billion won.
The Osong-Iksan section of the first phase is also intended for use as high-speed test track for rolling stock development, to be fitted with special catenary and instrumented track.
The ground-breaking ceremony was held on December 4, 2009.
As of September 2010, progress was 9.6% of the project budget then estimated at 10,490.1 billion won for the first phase, which was due for completion in 2014, while the estimate for the entire line stood at 12,101.7 billion won.
Suseo HSR
First plans for the Honam HSR foresaw a terminus in
Suseo station, southeast Seoul.
The branch to Suseo was re-launched as a separate project, the Suseo High Speed Railway (Suseo HSR),
in June 2008. Detailed design of the line is underway since September 2010, with opening planned by the end of 2014.
For the longer term, new high-speed lines from Seoul to
Sokcho
Sokcho ( ko, 속초; ()) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located in the far northeast of Gangwon. The city is a major tourist hub, and a popular gateway to nearby Seoraksan national park. Sokcho is home to the few lakes: Yeong ...
on the eastern coast, and a direct branch from the Gyeongbu HSR south to
Jinju and further to the coast are under consideration.
In conjunction with the award of the
2018 Winter Olympics to
PyeongChang in July 2011, KTX service via the eastern coast line was anticipated; the expected travel time there from Seoul is 50 minutes.
Jeju Island
In January 2009,
the Korea Transport Institute
The Korea Transport Institute (KOTI) is a think tank under the Prime Minister's Office in South Korea. Commissioned research is by order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and local government. It relocated to the Se ...
also proposed a line from Mokpo to
Jeju Island, putting Jeju 2 hours 26 minutes from Seoul.
The line would include a bridge from
Haenam to
Bogil Island and a undersea tunnel from Bogil Island to Jeju Island (with a drilling station on
Chuja Island), for an estimated cost of US$10 billion.
As the proposal was popular with lawmakers from South Jeolla Province, the government is conducting a feasibility study, but the Jeju governor expressed skepticism.
The Seoul-Jeju route has been mentioned as the
world's busiest air route with 9.9 million passengers in 2011.
However, Jeju Gov.
Won Hee-ryong opposed this plan since it would ruin the island's identity and make the Jeju economy more dependent on the mainland.
Rolling stock
KTX-I
The initial
KTX-I
The KTX-I, also known as the TGV-K or Korail Class 100000, is a South Korean high speed train class based on the French TGV Réseau. The 20-car formation of the trainsets without restaurant car is optimized for high capacity. The 46 trainsets wer ...
trainsets, also known as simply KTX or as TGV-K,
are based on the TGV Réseau, but with several differences.
46 trains were built - the initial twelve in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
by Alstom, the remainder in South Korea by
Rotem. The 20-car
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
s consist of two traction heads, which are powered end cars without passenger compartments, and eighteen articulated passenger cars, of which the two extreme ones have one motorised bogie each.
A KTX-I was built to carry up to 935 passengers at a regular top speed of ,
later increased to .
KTX-Sancheon
![Korail KTX-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Korail_KTX-2.jpg)
For less frequented relations and for operational flexibility, a 2001 study proposed a train created by scaling down the planned commercial version of the HSR-350x, by shortening the train, removing powered bogies from intermediate cars, and lowering top speed.
Hyundai Rotem received orders for altogether 24 such trains, called KTX-II, in three batches from July 2006 to December 2008.
Design speed is , and revenue service speed is .
The power electronics uses newer technology than the HSR-350x, and the front is a new design, too. The trainsets, of which two can be coupled together, consist of two traction heads and eight articulated passenger cars, and seat 363 passengers in two classes, with enhanced comfort relative to the KTX-I.
The domestic added value of the trains was increased to 87%, compared to 58% for the KTX-I.
Imported parts include the pantographs,
semiconductors in the power electronics, front design, couplers and final drives.
The train was developed on the basis of the transferred TGV technology, but more advanced technology was used for the new motors, power electronics and additional brake systems, while the passenger cars were made of aluminum to save weight, and the nose was a new design with reduced aerodynamic drag.
Test runs were conducted between 2002 and 2008,
in the course of which HSR-350x achieved the South Korean rail speed record of on December 16, 2004.
The KTX-II was officially renamed as KTX-Sancheon (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: KTX-산천) after the
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
name of the indigenous fish
cherry salmon
The masu salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou''), also known as masu ( ja, マス, , trout) or in Japan, is a species of salmon belonging to the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', found in the North Pacific along Northeast/East Asian coasts from the Russian Far Ea ...
before the first units started commercial service on March 2, 2010.
However within weeks of its initial launch, mechanical and design flaws began to appear, in some cases causing trains to stop running and forcing passengers to leave the train and walk back to the station, and in one particular case derailing from the tracks on February 11, 2011. Although the trains were designed to be a domestically built replacement for the French built Alstrom trains, due to over 30 malfunctions since March 2, 2010, Korail asked manufacturer Hyundai-Rotem to recall all 19 of the trains in operation after finding cracks in two anchor bands in May 2011.
Following the recall, the KTX-Sancheon trains were put back in service.
In addition to the 24 initial KTX-Sancheon trains, which form the KTX-Sancheon Class 11, new batches have been ordered and delivered since, to provide service on the new
Honam
Honam (; literally "south of the lake") is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to Gwangju, South Jeolla and North Jeolla Provinces. The name "Jeonla-do" is used in the names of th ...
,
Suseo and
Gyeonggang lines. For the opening of the Honam HSR line, 22 trainsets, named Class 12, were delivered ahead of the 2015 opening. In addition, 10 trainsets have been delivered to provide service on the Suseo line, scheduled to open in December 2016 (Class 13), and 15 trainsets (Class 14) have been ordered for the Gyeonggang Line, which opened in late 2017 ahead of the
2018 Winter Olympics
KTX-Eum
The KTX-Eum entered service on Jungang Line on January 4, 2021, operating between electrified section of Cheongnyangni and Andong. A further order of 14 six-car units was placed in December 2016, both orders are to be delivered in 2020–2021.
List of KTX lines
Current lines
Future lines
Defunct lines
Operation
Following a phase of test operation, regular KTX service started on April 1, 2004, with a maximum speed of achieved along the finished sections of the Gyeongbu HSR.
In response to frequent passenger complaints regarding speeds on the video display staying just below the advertised 300 mark, operating top speed was raised to on November 26, 2007.
Services
![Frequency of Korea Train Express (KTX) services trains-week](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Frequency_of_Korea_Train_Express_%28KTX%29_services_trains-week.gif)
KTX services are grouped according to their route, and within the groups, the stopping pattern changes from train to train.
KTX trains not deviating from the Seoul–Busan corridor are operated as the Gyeongbu KTX service. In 2004, the new service cut the route length from ,
and the fastest trains, serving four stations only, cut the minimum Seoul–Busan travel time from the
Saemaul's 4 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes.
With the extension of the Gyeongbu HSR, from November 1, 2010, the minimum Seoul–Busan travel time reduced to 2 hours 18 minutes,
over a travel distance of .
From December 1, 2010, Korail added a pair of non-stop trains with a travel time of 2 hours 8 minutes. Once the sections across Daejeon and Daegu are completed, cutting the Seoul–Busan travel distance to ,
plans foresee a further improvement of the four-stop travel time to 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Because both KTX and conventional trains in South Korea share a rail gauge (unlike in Japan), KTX trains can run on both networks dramatically increasing the number of destinations served.
Some Gyeongbu KTX services use parts of the conventional line paralleling the high-speed line. From June 2007 until October 2010, some trains left the Gyeongbu HSR between Daejeon and Dongdaegu to serve
Gimcheon
Gimcheon (; , trans., 'gold spring city') is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway.
In ancient ...
and
Gumi Gumi may refer to:
* Gumi, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran
* Gumi, Nepal, a village development committee in Surkhet District, Bheri Zone, Nepal
* Gumi, North Gyeongsang, a city in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
** Gumi University
* ...
before the opening of an extra station for the two cities on the high-speed line.
From November 1, 2010, when most Gyeongbu KTX services began to use the new Daegu–Busan high-speed section, some trains remained on the Gyeongbu Line on that section, and additional trains began to use the Gyeongbu Line on the Seoul–Daejeon section to serve
Suwon
Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
.
KTX trains using the Gyeongbu HSR only from Seoul to Daejeon and continuing all along the Honam Line are operated as the Honam KTX service. In 2004, the new service with a route length of between
Yongsan
Yongsan District (, ) is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea.
Yongsan has a population of 231,685 (2020) and has a geographic area of , and is divided into 19 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Yongsan is located in central Seoul ...
in Seoul and Mokpo cut minimum travel time from 4 hours 42 minutes to 2 hours 58 minutes.
By 2017, this time is to be cut further to 1 hours 46 minutes.
On December 15, 2010, the new Gyeongjeon KTX service started
with a minimum travel time of 2 hours 54 minutes over the long route between Seoul and Masan.
The service is to be extended to Jinju by 2012.
A fourth line, the Jeolla KTX service will connect Seoul to Yeosu in 3 hours 7 minutes from September 2011. From 2014, with the completion of the first phase of the Honam HSR, the travel time is reduced further to 2 hours 25 minutes.
From 2015, KTX trains are to reach Pohang from Seoul in 1 hour 50 minutes.
Tickets and seats
Type of seats
KTX offers two classes: First Class and Standard Class. Tickets also specify whether a seat is forward-facing or backward-facing according to the direction of travel. First Class seats are arranged 2+1 across the train and Standard Class seats are configured 2+2. There are special reserved Family seats, which are grouped in four, including 2 forward-facing and 2 backward-facing seats. There are reserved seats and unassigned seats.
KTX trains have no restaurant cars or bars, only seat service.
From 2006, one car of selected KTX services functions as a moving
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
.
Ticket prices
![KTX diff-fare-red](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/KTX_diff-fare-red.gif)
KTX fares were designed to be about halfway between those for conventional trains and airline tickets. The fare system implemented at the start of service in April 2004 deviated from prices proportional with distance, to favour long-distance trips. On April 25, 2005,
fares were selectively reduced for relations under-performing most.
From November 1, 2006, due to rising energy prices,
Korail applied an 8-10% fare hike for various train services, including 9.5% for KTX.
The price of a Seoul-Busan Standard Class ticket increased to 48,100 won.
From July 1, 2007, KTX fares were hiked another 6.5%, while those for the slower Saemaeul and Mugunghwa services on the parallel conventional route were raised by 3.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
However, new reduced weekday and unassigned seat fares were also introduced.
After the November 1, 2010, start of service on the Daegu–Busan section of the Gyeongbu HSR, the fare for KTX trains using the new section was set about 8% higher than for the old route via Miryang, while that for the new services via Suwon was set lower.
Discounts
Korail's standard discounts for children, disabled, seniors and groups apply on KTX trains, too.
For frequent travellers, Korail's standard discount cards, which are categorised according to age group, apply with the double of the standard discount rates; while discount cards for business and government agency workers apply with the normal rate; both types of discounts are up to 30%.
Season period tickets with discounts of up to 60% can also apply to KTX trains.
Discounts for family seats (37.5%) and backward facing seats (5%) are specific to the KTX.
In addition to Korail's small general discounts for tickets purchased in a vending machine, via cell phone or the internet, discounts of 5–20% apply to a limited number of seats on KTX trains when purchased in advance.
For travellers who transfer to other long-distance trains towards destinations beyond KTX stops, transfer tickets with 30% discount apply.
Korail pays a refund for late KTX trains, which reaches 100% for trains with a delay above one hour.
Korea Rail Pass
The Korea Rail Pass ( ko, 한국 철도패스; ''Hangug Cheoldo Paeseu'', or ko, 코리아 레일 패스; ''Koria Reil Paeseu''), also commonly called the KR Pass ( ko, KR패스; ''KR Paeseu''), is a rail pass offered by Korail (Korea Railroad Co ...
, a period ticket Korail offers to foreigners, also applies to KTX. For passengers using the Korea-Japan Joint Rail Pass, a joint offer of Korail, Japanese railways and ferry services, the discount on KTX trains is 30%.
Passenger numbers and usage
Forecasts
When the project was launched, KTX was expected to become one of the world's busiest high-speed lines. The first study in 1991 forecast around 200,000 passengers a day in the first year of operation, growing to 330,000 passengers a day twelve years later.
In forecasts prepared after the decision to split the project into two phases, the expected first year ridership of Gyeongbu KTX services was reduced by about 40%. With the estimate for the Honam KTX services added to the plan, opening year forecasts ranged between 150,000 and 175,000 passengers a day.
Actual initial ridership after the opening of the first phase in 2004 was well short of initial expectations at around half of the final forecast.
In October 2010, before the opening of the second phase, Korail expected ridership to rise from the then current 106,000 to 135,000 passengers a day.
Ridership evolution
![KTX-daily-ridership-2004-2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/KTX-daily-ridership-2004-2013.svg)
KTX was introduced on 1 April 2004. In the first 100 days, daily passenger numbers averaged 70,250, generating an operational revenue of about 2.11 billion won per day, 54% of what was expected.
On January 14, 2005, Prime Minister
Lee Hae Chan
Lee Hae-chan (born 10 July 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea from 2018 to 2020. He also served as Prime Minister of South Korea from 2004 to 2006.
He served as Member of the National Ass ...
stated that "the launch of KTX was a classic policy failure" due to construction costs significantly above and passenger numbers well below forecasts. However, ridership increased by over a third on the Gyeongbu KTX and over a half on the Honam KTX in two years. Financial break-even was forecast at a ridership level of around 100,000 passengers a day, which was expected by the end of 2006.
The 100 millionth rider was carried after 1116 days of operation on April 22, 2007, when cumulative income stood at 2.78 trillion won.
KTX finances moved into the black in 2007. The next year, with revenues equal to US$898 million and costs equal to US$654 million, KTX was Korail's most profitable branch.
By the sixth anniversary in April 2010, KTX trains travelled a total 122.15 million kilometres, carrying 211.01 million passengers.
Punctuality gradually improved from 86.7% of trains arriving within 5 minutes of schedule in 2004
to 98.3% in 2009.
In 2009, the average daily ridership was 102,700.
As of April 2010, the single-day ridership record stood at 178,584 passengers, achieved on January 26, 2009, the
Korean New Year.
By the tenth anniversary KTX had travelled a total 240 million kilometres, carrying 414 million passengers.
Market share and effect
The introduction of high-speed services had the strongest effect on long-distance relations with a significant portion of the journey on the high-speed line, like Seoul–Busan: KTX took both the majority of the market and the bulk of rail passengers in the first year already, increasing the total share of rail from around two-fifths to a market dominating two-thirds by 2008. On long-distance relations with significant distances along conventional lines and resulting more modest travel time gains, that is along the Honam Line, the KTX and overall rail market share gain decreases with distance. On medium-distance relations like Seoul–Daejeon, KTX gained market share mostly at the expense of normal rail express services and air traffic, and helped to increase the total share of rail. On short-distance intercity relations line Seoul–Cheonan, due to the modest gains in time and the location of KTX stops outside city cores, KTX gains were at the expense of conventional rail, while intercity rail's modal share was little changed.
By 2007, provincial airports suffered from deficits after a drop in the number of passengers attributed to the KTX.
With lower ticket prices, by 2008, KTX has swallowed up around half of the airlines' previous demand between Seoul and Busan (falling from 5.3 million passengers in 2003 to 2.4 million). Though some low-cost carriers failed and withdrew from the route, others still planned to enter competition even at the end of 2008. Budget airlines achieved a 5.6% growth in August 2009 over the same month a year earlier while KTX ridership decreased by 1.3%, a trend change credited to the opening of
Seoul Subway Line 9
Seoul Subway Line 9, operated by Seoul Metro Line9 Corporation, is a subway line in Seoul. The line runs east from Gaehwa Station (local train terminal) or Gimpo Airport Station (express train terminal, connecting to Line 5 and Airport Railroad ...
, which improved
Gimpo International Airport
Gimpo International Airport (), commonly known as Gimpo Airport , formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some west of the Central District of Seoul. Gimpo was the main interna ...
's connection to southern Seoul.
In the first two months after the launch of the second phase of the Gyeongbu HSR, passenger numbers on flights between Gimpo and
Ulsan Airport
Ulsan Airport is an airport in Ulsan, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its weste ...
s dropped 35.4% compared to the same period a year earlier, those between Gimpo and
Pohang Airport
Pohang Gyeongju Airport is an airport in Pohang, South Korea . In 2011, 255,227 passengers used the airport.
History
Pohang Airfield was originally developed during the Japanese Imperial period.
Korean war
In early July 1950 Pohang airfield w ...
s 13.2%.
Between Gimpo Airport and Busan's
Gimhae International Airport
Gimhae International Airport (), commonly known as Gimhae Airport (formerly Kimhae International Airport) is located on the western end of Busan, South Korea. The name "Gimhae" comes from the nearby city of Gimhae. It opened in 1976. A new in ...
, airline passenger numbers remained stable (+0.2%), as a consequence of a budget airline competing with large discounts and aggressive marketing.
In the first month of Gyeongjeon KTX service, express bus services between Seoul and Masan or Changwon experienced 30–40% drops in ridership.
Technical and operational issues
State of infrastructure
Lawmakers criticised the safety of Korail's tunnels after the Ministry of Construction and Transportation submitted data to the National Assembly on June 13, 2005. The ministry added fire prevention standards to high-speed line design standards only in November 2003, thus they weren't applied to the by then finished tunnels of the first phase of KTX. Consequently, few tunnels had emergency exits, and in high-speed railway tunnels, the average walking distance in case of an emergency was , with a maximum of , against a norm of emergency exits every in other countries. A contingency plan for fires in KTX tunnels was incorporated into a national disaster manual in November 2005.
On October 5, 2008, it was revealed by lawmakers that inside Hwanghak Tunnel, from December 2004, inspectors have monitored the progression of several cracks and minor track displacements, which continued after maintenance work in March–April 2007 and again in March 2008.
The operator claimed that a February 2007 on-site inspection found the problems not safety-relevant, but pledged further maintenance, and an investigation into the causes was launched.
Tunnel reinforcement was under way in 2010.
Incidents and accidents
![KTX-breakdowns](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/KTX-breakdowns.gif)
Operation irregularities mostly concerned the rolling stock, but also signalling, power glitches and track problems. The number of incidents decreased from 28 in the first month to 8 in the fifth. The failure rate decreased sharply by the fifth year of operation.
Later, in the first eight months of regular service until October 2010, KTX-II trains broke down 12 times. Causes for breakdowns in the first years of operation involved inexperienced staff and insufficient inspection during maintenance.
Lawmakers from the
Grand National Party
The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
published an investigation in October 2006 and expressed concern about the practice to use parts from other trains for spare parts,
but Korail stated that that is standard practice in case of urgency with no safety effect, and the supply of spare parts is secured.
Korail is also conducting a localisation program to develop replacements for two dozen imported parts.
On June 13, 2007, near
Cheongdo
Cheongdo County (''Cheongdo-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is connected to the national transportation grid by the Gyeongbu Line railroad and the Daegu-Busan Expressway. The seat of government is located in the ...
on the upgraded Daegu–Busan section, a damper acting between two cars of a KTX train got free at one end due to a loose screw and hit the trackbed, throwing up ballast that hit cars and caused bruises to two people on the parallel road, until the train was stopped when passengers noticed smoke.
On November 3, 2007, an arriving KTX-I train collided with a parked KTX-I train inside Busan Station, resulting in material damage
of 10 billion won and light injuries to two persons.
The accident happened because the driver had fallen asleep and disabled the train protection system,
and led to the trial and conviction of the driver. The railway union criticised single driver operation in conjunction with the two and a half hours rest time the driver had between shifts.
On February 11, 2011, a KTX-Sancheon train
bound for Seoul from Busan derailed on a switch in a tunnel before
Gwangmyeong Station
Gwangmyeong station () is a train station in Gwangmyeong, South Korea. The station was newly built as a stop of national railway operator Korail's KTX high-speed service, south of Seoul Station.
The area surrounding the station is home to the ...
,
when travelling at around .
No casualties were reported, only one passenger suffered slight injury, but KTX traffic was blocked for 29 hours while repairs were completed.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the accident resulted from a series of human errors.
Because workers improperly repaired a point along the tracks.
Investigators found that the derailment was caused by a switch malfunction triggered by a loose nut from track, and suspected that a repairman failed to tighten it during maintenance the previous night.
The switch's detectors signalled a problem earlier, however, a second maintenance crew failed to find the loose nut and didn't properly communicate the fact to the control center, which then allowed the train on the track.
The rail union criticised Korail's use of hired repairmen.
there were no problems with the train according to investigation.
On July 15, 2011, 150 passengers were evacuated from a train when smoke started coming out of the train when it arrived at
Miryang station at 11:30 AM.
On July 17, 2011, at around 11 AM, a train stopped abruptly and stranded some 400 passengers in the Hwanghak Tunnel for over an hour.
The train resumed service after emergency repairs to a malfunctioning motor. A Korail spokesperson stated that the reason for the stop was due to "faults in the motor block that supplies power to the wheels". The same day, the air conditioning broke down on another train leaving Busan at 1:45 PM. Over 800 passengers were transferred to another train at Daejeon when the problem could not be fixed.
On December 7, 2018, a KTX train carrying 198 passengers derailed about five minutes after leaving Gangneung for Seoul injuring 15 passengers. The train was traveling at about 103 km/h when almost all of its cars left the rails.
On January 5, 2022, a KTX-Sancheon train bound for Busan from Seoul carrying 303 passengers and crew derailed at 12:58 PM while passing a tunnel in Yeongdong of North Chungcheong Province, about 215 kilometers south of Seoul, injuring 7 passengers. The train was traveling at about 200 km/h when it partially derailed, resulting in a bogie wheel from car number 4 running off the track before being violently ejected from the train, throwing up ballast and causing structural damage to train cars. Subsequent KTX traffic was rerouted via the standard line, resulting in severe delays. Initially, it was believed that the derailment was caused by the train colliding with debris while passing Yeongdong Tunnel. However, evidence gathered from further investigation show that the missing bogie wheel was found inside Otan Tunnel, which is about 4 km before Yeongdong Tunnel, leading the investigating team to believe the train derailed due to faults within the wheel bogie assembly rather than from impact with debris. The exact cause and sequence of the derailment is still under investigation.
Passenger comfort and convenience
Passenger surveys in the first months found that the limited capacity of bus connections
and the lack of subway connections for intermediate stations, especially the newly built stations Gwangmyeong and Cheonan-Asan, was the problem mentioned most often. A better connection to Cheonan-Asan Station was provided by an extension of
Seoul Subway Line 1
Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a rapid transit and commuter rail line which links central Seoul, South Korea to Soyosan Station in the northeast, Incheon in the southwest, and Sinchang (Soonchunhyang Univ.) ...
along the
Janghang Line, opened on December 14, 2008. Gwangmyeong Station was linked to the same subway line by a shuttle service on December 15, 2006, but it made little impact due to the longtime differences between KTX and subway train schedules.
The noise level in the trains during tunnel passages was also subject to passenger complaints.
This was referred to as a tunnel effect; it referred to both noise and vibration of the train when traveling through two specific tunnels.
[Lee, J., Jin, B., & Ji, Y. (2009). Development of a Structural Equation Model for ride comfort of the Korean high-speed railway. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 39(1), 7–14. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2008.09.003] The tunnel effect was specifically noted as a reason for passenger dissatisfaction.
[Lee, J., Jin, B., Ji, Y., & Yun, M. (2009). Cultural differences in conceptual models of ride comfort for high-speed trains. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing, 19(2), 128–144. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20141] Sound waves that are generally dispersed in an open environment are reflected against the tunnel walls, which causes the sound waves to come in contact with the passenger cabin and produces noise.
[Choi, S., Lee, C., Kim, J., & Cho, J. (2004). Interior Noise of a Korean High-Speed Train in Tunnels. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Australian Acoustical Society, 2004. 415-416. ; ISSN 1446-0998.]
A reduction by 3–4
dB was achieved by retrofitting all trains with longer mud flaps at car ends until May 2006 to smooth the airflow at the articulated car joints.
However, measurements in 2009 found significantly higher interior noise levels at some locations in two tunnels. Window thickness and sound insulation was improved in the KTX-II.
The rails for high-speed trains like the KTX are welded together via a special techniques that make the rail a solid continuous rail; this method reduces the noise volume, which is produced by the wheels' contact with the rail, but it is not fully eliminated.
The isolation of KTX-I trains against pressure variations during tunnel passages
was insufficient for some passengers, leading to efforts to reinforce pressurization in newer generations of trains.
Pressure variations have been known to cause passengers to experience ringing in their ears; the ventilation systems on the passenger cabins are sealed when the train enters a tunnel in order to reduce the pressure changes.
Pressure variations were not the only train cabin-associated complaint; KTX passengers were also known to have been negatively affected by inconsistent speeds of the trains.
Some KTX passengers found high-speed travel in backwards facing seats dizzying.
Along with dizziness, feelings of nausea, headache, and sleepiness could also be experienced.
Motion sickness was also noted as having had a minimal effect on KTX passengers; however, it still made an impact on passenger ride comfort.
When the original seats were selected for the KTX trains, the anthropometry of the main consumers, who were largely expected to be Korean, were not considered.
The seat design was found to have a significant effect on how passengers on the KTX trains rated the experience of their trip. Among the various factors that were considered to be vectors of discomfort were the angle of joints and specific areas of pressure, which were discovered to be present after an analysis of questionnaires that were completed by recent passengers.
The factors of the seats of concern to KTX passengers were the shape, pitch, width, and the amount of legroom between the rows of seats.
Swivel seats, which can be turned into the direction of travel, installed only on First Class in KTX-I trains,
were made standard on both classes on newer generations of trains.
Studies have shown that term "ride comfort" has been used as an all-encompassing term for the KTX passengers' over all experience on the trains.
While the KTX train is based on the French TGV model, it is considered to be more comfortable.
The passengers' overall experience with regards to over-all ride comfort has been looked at as a combination of their physical health and emotional state.
Fares were not included in the aforementioned questionnaires on ride comfort as there were variations in pricing due to seat arrangement, as well as weekday/weekend rates.
See also
*
Tilting Train Express
*
Transport in South Korea
Transportation in South Korea is provided by extensive networks of railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services and air routes that traverse the country. South Korea is the third country in the world to operate a maglev train, which is an automa ...
*
Train to Busan
''Train to Busan'' () is a 2016 South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Eui-sung. The film mostly takes place on a high-speed train ...
*
Saemaeul-ho
The Saemaeul-ho, formerly known as the Saemaul-ho and Saemaul Express, is a class of train operated by Korail, the national railroad of South Korea, since February 8, 1969. Before the introduction of the KTX express trains, the Saemaeul-ho was ...
*
Mugunghwa-ho
The Mugunghwa-ho is a class of train operated by Korail, main railway operator of South Korea. Mugunghwa trains are Korail's slowest tier of trains stopping at a number of towns and villages, and operating over a number of lines that are not se ...
References
; Citations
; Bibliography
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External links
*
KTX : Visitseoul - Official Seoul City Tourism
{{Authority control
High-speed rail in South Korea
High-speed trains