The U Line is a driverless, fully automatic, grade-separated light metro line in

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is the tenth-most populous city in the province and a suburb of Seoul within the greater Seoul Metropolitan Area. History Uijeongbu was estab ...

, Seoul Capital Area,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. The "U" is short for the city Uijeongbu. The line uses Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL) 208 trains built by Siemens Transportation Systems. The system is very similar to the Lille Metro, Toulouse Metro and Rennes Metro in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The line color is amber. The line is long on elevated track and offers a transfer to Line 1 at Hoeryong Station. Single rides cost 1,550 won. During rush hours trains come every 3 and a half minutes with trains coming every 6 to 10 minutes during all other hours. Trains are in service 19.5 hours a day, from 5 am until 12:30 am. From Balgok Station to Tapseok Station, the U Line will take riders 19 minutes and 54 seconds, versus a car, at 31 minutes 6 seconds, or a public bus, taking 40 minutes and 6 seconds. Two extensions are planned. After four and a half years of operating at a continual loss, a debt of 240 billion won prompted board members of the Uijeongbu Light Rail Transit Company to file for bankruptcy in late 2016. If the Seoul Central District Court agrees to the filing then operation reverts to the city government. On 5 January 2017, Uijeongbu Mayor Ahn Byung-yong promised the line would continue operation.

History

* 1995 December – Initial planning * 2004 August – GS Construction Consortium is picked * 2005 October – Operating company is established * 2007 July – Construction groundbreaking ceremony * 2007 August – Full construction begins * 2011 Summer – All track has been laid * 2011 Fall – Signal work completion * 2012 February to June- Testing of system * 2012 June 29–30 – Free rides prior to official opening * 2012 July 1 – Revenue service begins * 2014 December 6 – Joins metropolitan unity fare allowing transfers to other lines and buses. Fares start from 1,350, with a flat 300 won extra charge if transferring from Line 1.

Fares

The U Line is physically connected to the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system and allows payment via the T-money smart card. It allows transfer to other lines and buses since 6 December 2014. Discounts are available for youth and free rides exist for those over 65 years of age.

Rolling stock

The line uses VAL 208 rolling stock also used on the metros in Lille,

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

(Line A only), and

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, as well as the CDGVAL at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. However, unlike those cities, the trains have air conditioning to suit the more humid climate of South Korea.

Stations

There is no station numbered U116. All stations are in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do.

References

External links