Seoul expands express transit to relieve commuter rush
Seoul citizens queue at Gimpo International Airport Station on the notoriously crowded Line 9. Yonhap
New express trains, bus routes aim to tackle extreme overcrowding on packed subway Line 9
Seoul Metro Line 9 will run more express trains during the morning rush and pilot four express bus routes connecting outlying districts with the city center starting Nov. 16, city officials said Wednesday.
Line 9, which cuts through key commercial and financial districts, remains one of Seoul’s most notoriously overcrowded transit corridors. During peak morning hours, its express trains routinely carry up to 192.5 percent of their rated passenger capacity. Korea measures subway congestion relative to a train’s total design threshold, including standing commuters, meaning 100 percent represents a fully loaded train.
To alleviate the problem, the city will alter the operational ratio of express to all-stop trains based on commuter demand for the first time since the line opened. From 5:40 a.m. to 7 a.m., eastbound service will run two express trains for every all-stop train, replacing the current one-to-one alternating schedule.
Additionally, the municipal government is moving peak hour schedules earlier. Morning express service will begin at 5:40 am instead of 6:30 am, while evening rush hour operations will shift 30 minutes earlier, running from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The operational overhaul will add eight morning trips and tighten intervals between express departures. Officials project peak congestion on westbound morning express trains to drop 20.4 percentage points to 172.1 percent. The city noted that these scheduling adjustments match the impact of deploying four new six-car trains — saving approximately 66 billion won ($49.1 million) and circumventing years of train procurement timelines.
Concurrently, four express bus routes will launch from outer residential neighborhoods in Dobong, Gangdong, Sangam, and Gangseo to central commercial hubs such as Seoul City Hall and Yeongdeungpo. By utilizing passing lanes built into dedicated median bus lanes, these buses will skip intermediate stops and bypass bottlenecked traffic.
With 45.8 percent fewer stops than standard routes, the express buses are expected to reduce morning travel times by roughly 10 percent. Each route will operate three early morning trips before reverting to local service.
“The core of this measure is to closely analyze citizen travel patterns and concentrate transportation services precisely during peak commuting hours,” said Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Transportation Bureau. “By boosting the operational efficiency of existing transit infrastructure, we will continue innovating Seoul’s public transportation so that residents can feel tangible reductions in congestion and travel times.”
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.