Seoul residents will soon be able to travel on a subway system without seats. Wagons with standing room only are intended to provide more comfortable travel conditions during rush hours. The subway in South Korea’s capital is one of the most crowded in the world.
The pilot program will start in January in the capital of South Korea, Seoul. The managers of the city’s metro announced on Wednesday that trains with two carriages will be allowed in service, in which only standing people will be allowed – there will be no seats in them. For now, such wagons will run on two lines during peak traffic hours in the morning and afternoon.
Metro without seats
The aim of the tested solution is to reduce crowding in the subway during rush hours. The removal of seats is intended to provide more space for passengers and improve their travel comfort. According to the statistics of metro managers, lines 4 and 7, where the program will be introduced, reached over 193 and 164 percent, respectively, only by the end of the third quarter of 2023. its capacity during peak hours. It is estimated that by removing the seats, the crowding level will drop to 153 and 130 percent, respectively. predicted maximums.
“If the pilot program proves successful, we will expand this initiative in the future to ensure that citizens can use the subway more conveniently and safely,” said Baek Ho, executive director of the subway system.
Seoul – crowded in the subway
The program is one of the elements of broader activities to improve the situation in the metro, which also includes, among others: increasing the number of trains on the two most crowded lines. The Seoul Metro has nine lines and 275 stations. It serves approximately seven million passengers every day.
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