Seoul to trial seatless subway carriages to cut rush-hour congestion

Passengers on Seoul’s subway. The South Korean capital’s metro operator is going to test carriages with no seats during rush hours from January. Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Seoul’s subway system plans to introduce trains with carriages with no seating in order to alleviate congestion during peak hours, its operator has announced.

The trial programme, set to start in January, will involve the removal of seats from two carriages on subway trains running on two of the South Korean’s capital’s nine major lines during morning and evening rush hours, Seoul Metro said on Wednesday. It forms part of a broader project aimed at reducing congestion on one of the world’s busiest metro systems.