Seoul Subway Line 9 extension

By Lee Sun-ho

March 28, 2015 was an important day in my life. As an ordinary Seoul metropolitan subway rider, now old enough to qualify for free fares, I have been waiting for a new subway station to be completed adjacent to my house for 33 years, which is the amount of time that I have lived at Nonhyeon-2-dong, near the CHA Gangnam Medical Center intersection.

In every direction, there are four subway stations, by chance, each at a two bus-stop distance from the square crossing.

The Seoul Subway Line 9 (Gold Line), co-run by the Seoul Metro Line 9 Corp. and the Seoul Line 9 Operation Co., Ltd., is the first privately run subway in Korea, operated by a joint venture between Hyundai Rotem and Veolia Transport, a French company.

Since the opening of Phase 2 of the Gold Line, I travel through the five new stations everyday with keen interest. Each of the brand-new stations has its own merits, equipped with clean but high-quality convenience facilities and diverse safety-control provisions including platform screen doors.

Unlike other lines, Subway Line 9 runs both express (passage) and local (common) trains. The Phase 2 express train stops both at 927 and 930 (out of 5), while the first 25.5 km section of the Gold Line has five (out of 25) express stations where it is possible to transfer to other lines.

I have been told the nickname for Line 9 is "hell train” and that it is in the "war zone” during rush hours. Boarding the train is not easy, but exiting a train can also be a formidable task. This is due to the fact there are only four trains for one-time transport with over-crowded commuters during morning rush hours without increasing trains ahead of the opening of the five stations on the line. A temporary measure is the running of express local bus lines between Gayang (907) and Yeouido (915) stations for the exclusive free use of morning rush-hour commuters.

For better or worse, thanks to the opening of Phase 2 of the Gold Line, the possibility of my using local buses can be minimized to reduce traffic fares and travel time, and enhance health control through more walking around, further to the benefit of my fare-free privilege. If one complains about this new transport system, I would recommend that he suggest some step-by-step plans to improve the system, plus convincing creative ideas for the sake of private needs and public wants as a whole, including the deficit problems of the Line 9 operations as well as overall passengers’ transportation etiquette and emergency safeguard devices as necessary.

In short, good luck! There is no easy way to operate a public transportation system that moves nearly 10 million passengers per day, but this new line does much to ease the traffic burden we already experience in Seoul.

As far as subways go, the extension of Seoul Subway Line 9 is, no doubt, an integral part of the world’s best-ranking subway (inaugurated on August 15, 1974) program, adding another 4.5 kilometers of the new Gold Line to the Seoul metropolitan network. It is my earnest hope that the latest extension (Phase 2) of Line 9 will contribute a great deal to the desirable upgrading for Seoul’s renowned 18-line mass underground transit system as a whole. As a Seoulite, I feel comfortable and blessed with great confidence at the present time.

The writer is an outside director of Samyang Tongsang Co. in Seoul. He can be reached at kexim2@unitel.co.kr.