Train operations on Seoul-Busan line normalized after derailment
Seoul Station is crowded with passengers due to train delays, Jan. 5, after a KTX bullet train was derailed on the Seoul-Busan route when a steel structure tore loose from a tunnel in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, and hit it. Yonhap
Train operations on the Seoul-Busan line were normalized Thursday morning, a day after a KTX bullet train was derailed in the central part of the country, injuring seven passengers, the railway operator said.
The Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said trains bound for Seoul from the southeastern port city of Busan resumed normal operations from 5:47 a.m. and those heading to Busan from Seoul from 7:55 a.m.
The normalization came after more than 130 trains were delayed or canceled Wednesday afternoon, after the KTX-Sancheon train was derailed as it passed through tunnel in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, about 215 kilometers south of Seoul.
The derailment occurred at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday after the train was apparently hit by a steel structure that fell from the tunnel. Seven passengers suffered minor injuries in the accident, according to KORAIL.
Until 7:55 a.m., southbound KTX trains passing the section between the central city of Daejeon and the southeastern city of Daegu, connected by the Yeongdong tunnel, had to take a detour to slower lanes due to lengthy recovery work.
KORAIL said they completed safety inspections and a trial run before resuming services.
"We deeply apologize for causing inconvenience to train users," a KORAIL official said.
KORAIL will thoroughly investigate the exact cause of the accident in cooperation with the related authorities and come up with measures to prevent such an accident from recurring, the official added. (Yonhap)