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.
According to Seoul Metro, by the third quarter of 2023, congestion levels inside Lines 4 and 7 –where the trial is taking place – had reached 193.4% and 164.2% of capacity, respectively, during the busiest hours. With the removal of seats, it is anticipated that peak congestion levels will decrease to 153.4% on Line 4 and 130.1% on Line 7, per subway carriage.
Seoul Metro manages one of the world’s largest urban railway networks, comprising nine lines and 275 stations, serving an estimated 7 million daily commuters.
“If the pilot project proves effective, we will expand the initiative in the future to ensure citizens can use the subway more comfortably and safely,” said Seoul Metro CEO Baek Ho.
Further to the announcement, Seoul Metro also increased the number of subway trains on the two congested lines during rush hours as of Monday.
Several local media outlets have asked whether the initiative will finally bring an end to the much-dreaded jiokcheol, a term combining “hell” and “subway” that captures the daily frustrations experienced by commuters on overcrowded subway trains.
