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| The SRT train, which will begin operation in December, will link Seoul and Busan eight minutes faster than the KTX. / Courtesy of SR |
By Yoon Ja-young
The SRT, a high-speed train connecting southern Seoul with the high-speed rail network, will begin operations in the middle of next month following tests.
The train starts at Suseo Station in southern Seoul, where Seoul Metro Line 3 and the Bundang Line intersect. The high-speed train station is attached to the subway station.
The biggest beneficiaries of the new service are residents of southern Seoul and southeastern parts of Gyeonggi Province such as Bundang and Hanam. Previously, they had to go to either Seoul Station or Yongsan Station, both north of the Han River, to catch the KTX high-speed train. With the launch of the SRT which runs at up to 300 kilometers per hour, they have only to go to Suseo Station nearby, saving both time and cost. SR, which operates the SRT, expects around 43,529 passengers to use Suseo Station daily by 2026.
The SRT train runs on a new railway built between Suseo Station and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, totaling 61.1 kilometers in length. After passing Pyeongtaek, the train will share the KTX rails, which run to Busan in the southeastern part of the country and Mokpo in the southwest.
Compared with the KTX which runs between Seoul Station and Busan Station, it will take eight minutes less to reach Busan from Suseo on the SRT. Compared with the KTX running from Yongsan Station to Mokpo Station, the SRT will shorten the travel time by seven minutes. On the SRT, it takes 133 minutes to Busan and 127 minutes to Mokpo. The fare is also around 10 percent cheaper than the KTX.
Notable for the new railway is that 86 percent of its length is tunnels. As soon as the train departs Suseo Station, it enters Yulhyeon Tunnel, which totals 52.3 kilometers in length. The tunnel is 50 meters below the surface. As it is located deep underground, the most direct route was able to be used. There were also no problems having to compensate property owners or dealing with traffic delays during construction.
The ultra-long tunnel deep underground, however, causes safety concerns. Yulhyeon Tunnel is thus equipped with 20 evacuation areas, as well as 16 vertical emergency passages through which the passengers can reach the surface.
Only 13 minutes after departing Suseo, the train reaches Dongtan Station, the first high-speed station to be built deep underground. From Dongtan to Jije Station located in Pyeongtaek, it takes only five minutes.
"The launch of the SRT is meaningful as competition has started in the high-speed train sector. The construction of the longest tunnel in the country and the opening of Suseo Station which will be a transportation hub of southern Seoul are also noteworthy," said Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kang Ho-in.
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