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Seoul Subway
Overview
Owner	Seoul Special City
Locale	Seoul, South Korea
Transit type	Rapid transit(Part of Sudogwon Electric Railway)
Number of lines	9
Number of stations	306
Daily ridership	6.9 million (2011)
Operation
Began operation	August 15, 1974
Operator(s)	Seoul Metro, SMRT, Veolia Transport
Technical
System length	327.2 km (203.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
System map

The Seoul Subway (Korean: 서울 지하철; Hanja: 서울 地下鐵; Seoul Jihacheol), located primarily in Seoul, South Korea, is the world's second largest subway by number of stations after New York City Subway and the world's second most highly used subway after Tokyo Subway, consisting of 9 lines operated by Seoul Metro (formerly Seoul Metropolitan Subway Corporation), Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit and Korail. Seoul Subway is part of the broader Seoul Capital Area Electric Railway (Korean: 수도권전철; Hanja: 首都圈電鐵; Sudogwan Jeoncheol) system, which links nearby Incheon metropolis and satellite cities in Gyeonggi province along with major cities in northern Chungnam province and western Gangwon province that lie over 100km away from the capital.

The Seoul Subway is considered the best subway in the world noted for its cleanliness, ease of use, arrival times accurate within seconds and innovations such as the world's longest circular line.

All lines use the T-money smart payment system utilizing RFID and NFC technology for automatic payment by T-money smart cards, smartphones or credit cards and one can transfer to any of the other line within the system for free. Transfer within the broader Seoul Capital Area Electric Railway system often free as well with the exception of AREX and Sinbundang Line.

Real-time subway arrival times are available for all lines provided through giant LCD screens at all stations, along with apps for smartphones. All directional signs in the system are written in both Korean and English. Station signs and some maps also display Hanja. The pre-recorded voice announcement in the trains indicating the upcoming station, possible line transfer and exiting side are all in Korean followed by English, and in some cases Japanese then Chinese.

Lines & Channels

History

• August 15, 1974: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 1, operating from Seongbuk Station to Incheon Station and Suwon Station.
• December 9, 1978: Yongsan - Cheongnyangni line was added to Line 1. Now part of Jungang Line.
• October 10, 1980: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 2.
• 1985: Fare system changed from charging by distance to zone, Edmondson railway ticket changed to magnetic paper ticket.
• April 20, 1985: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 4.
• July 12, 1985: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 3.
• September 1, 1985: Station operations made automatic in the Seoul subway.
• 1991: Station operations made automatic in the entire system.
• April 1, 1994: Opening of Indeogwon - Namtaeryeong extension of Seoul Subway Line 4.
• November 15, 1995: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 5.
• January 30, 1996: Opening of Jichuk - Daehwa extension of Seoul Subway Line 3.
• March 20, 1996: Opening of Kkachisan - Sindorim extension of Seoul Subway Line 2.
• October 11, 1996: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 7.
• November 23, 1996: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 8.
• October 6, 1999: Opening of Incheon Subway Line 1.
• August 7, 2000: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 6.
• 2004: Fare system changed back to charging by distance. Free transfers with buses introduced.
• July 24, 2009: Opening of Seoul Subway Line 9, operating from Gaehwa Station to Sinnonhyeon Station.

Rolling stock

Fares and ticketing

The current single-use ticket is a credit-card sized plastic card with RFID technology, which are obtained from automated machines in every subway station. A 500 won deposit fee is included in the price, and is refunded when the ticket is returned at any station.

See also

• Incheon Subway
• Pyongyang Metro
• List of Korea-related topics
• List of metro systems
• List of urban rail systems by length
• Seoul Subway stations
• Sudogwon Electric Railway
• Transportation in South Korea

References

1. See List of metro systems
2. See Metro systems by annual passenger rides.
3. See Seoul Metro
4. http://jalopnik.com/5958482/the-best-subway-systems-in-the-world

External links

• Official Homepages
  • Seoul Metro
  • Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation
  • Cyber Station - Map, station and route finder
• City Government
  • English-language describing Seoul Subway history, current construction and future projects

v t e Public transportation in Seoul Metropolitan Area
Railways	Main Gyeongbu Gyeongwon Gyeongui Jungang Gyeongchun Gyeongin AREX High-speed rail Gyeongbu HSR Honam HSR Suseo–Pyeongtaek HSR Metropolitan Subway      Line 1      Line 2      Line 3      Line 4      Line 5      Line 6      Line 7      Line 8      Line 9      Incheon Line 1      Incheon Line 2 Suburban railways      Gyeongui–Jungang Line      Gyeongchun Line      Suin–Bundang Line      Gyeonggang Line      Seohae Line      Shinbundang Line      AREX      Incheon Airport Maglev Light Metro      U Line      EverLine      Ui LRT      Gimpo Goldline      Sillim Line Under construction GTX A Sinansan (2023) Dongbuk (S3) (2024) Planned Seoul LRT lines Myeonmok (S4) (2028) Seobu (S5) (2031) Mok-dong (S6) (2028) Wirye–Sinsa (S7) (2033) Dongtan–Indeogwon (2028) Wirye (2024) Gangbukhoengdan (2027) GTX B GTX C Incheon 3 Main stations Seoul Yongsan Yeongdeungpo Cheongnyangni Suseo Sangbong
Roads	Expressways Gyeongbu (1) () Seohaean (15) Pyeongtaek-Paju (17) Sejong-Pocheon (29) Seoul-Yangyang (60) Seoul Ring (100) Gyeongin (120) Incheon International Airport (130) Yongin-Seoul (171) National roads #1 #3 #6 #39 #43 #46 #47 #48 #77 Local roads #23 #78 Urban expressways Bukbu Dongbu Gangbyeon Gangnam Nambu Naebu Olympic Seobu City routes #20 #21 () #30 #31 #41 () #50 #51 #60 #61 #70 #71 #88 #90 #92 #94
Buses	Areas Seoul Gyeonggi-do [ko] Incheon [ko] Major terminals Seoul Express Bus Terminal Central City Dong Seoul Bus Terminal Sangbong Intercity Bus Terminal [ko] Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal [ko]
Airports	Incheon International Seoul Station City Airport Terminal Gimpo International Seoul Air Base
Related topics	T-money Upass Mybi KTX Family Card hi-pass CashBee [ko] Rail+ [ko]

v t e Rapid transit in South Korea
Seoul Capital Area	Urban (Subway) Seoul Line 1 (Seoul Metro Line 1) Line 2 Line 3 (Seoul Metro Line 3) Line 4 (Seoul Metro Line 4) Line 5 (Seoul Metro Line 5) Line 6 Line 7 Line 8 (Seoul Metro Line 8) Line 9 Incheon Line 1 Line 2 Metropolitan Line 1 (Gyeongbu Line·Gyeongin Line·Gyeongwon Line·Janghang Line) Line 3 (Ilsan Line) Line 4 (Jinjeop Line·Gwacheon Line·Ansan Line) Line 5 (Hanam Line) Line 8 (Byeollae Line) Gyeongui–Jungang Line Gyeongchun Line Suin–Bundang Line Gyeonggang Line Seohae Line Shinbundang Line Sinansan Line GTX-A Light Metro Seoul Ui LRT Sillim Line Dongbuk Line Gyeonggi · Incheon EverLine Gimpo Goldline U Line Incheon Airport Maglev Airport rail link AREX
Busan	Urban (Subway) Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Sasang–Hadan Line Yangsan Line Metropolitan Donghae Line Bujeon-Masan Metropolitan Railway (ko) Light Metro Busan–Gimhae LRT
Daegu	Urban (Subway) Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Metropolitan Daegyeong Line
Gwangju	Line 1 Line 2 (ko)
Daejeon	Line 1 Line 2
Italics : Under construction

• Seoul subway lines
• Underground rapid transit systems
• Railway companies established in 1974