The SRT, a high-speed train connecting southern Seoul with the country, will begin operations Friday. The competition between the new train service and KTX will pull down fares by around 10 percent.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday the SRT will officially begin operation after completion of the new 61.1-kilometer railway between Suseo Station in southern Seoul and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province. After passing Pyeongtaek, the train will share the KTX rails. It will run between Suseo and Busan 80 times a day, Suseo and Gwangju-Songjeong 22 times, and Suseo and Mokpo 18 times. The fare will be 52,600 won to reach Busan, 40,700 won to Gwangju-Songjeong and 46,500 won to Mokpo. It is on average 10 percent cheaper than the KTX.
The SRT is expected to benefit residents of southern Seoul and southeastern Gyeonggi Province as they can catch the high-speed train near their homes instead of going north to Seoul Station or Yongsan Station where the KTX starts. It takes 133 minutes from Suseo to Busan and 127 minutes to Mokpo. It is also expected to increase the number of high-speed train users as the total operation, including both SRT and KTX, will be expanded by around 43 percent on weekends.
Around 43,000 passengers are expected to use Suseo Station daily by 2026, according to SR, the operator of the SRT.