YongIn Everline to Finally Open (For real this time!)

Though some thought the day would never come, the Yongin Everline finally opens on April 26 for service following an opening ceremony which begins at 3pm. Using the line will be free all weekend and fares will be collected from April 29. Despite construction on the line being completed almost three years ago in June 2010, plans to open the line were thrown into turmoil after various disputes between Yongin City and YongIn Everline, including the minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) for the project. Read more of this post

Alternatives Being Investigated for Wolmido’s Monorail

The fate of Incheon’s monorail, Wolmi Eunha Rail, lies in the hands of the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) after a disastrous history since the line’s initial “completion” in 2009. According to this article from DongA News and several others, the KRRI will be investigating the safety of the line to decide whether it can be fixed and used, or whether the line will be altered and used a different way. Read more of this post

Public Transport in Taipei

The last six days I was in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for a city-trip. Beforehand I heard a lot of good things about public transport of Taipei and so I was very excited to use subway, bus and other modes of transport. This post is going to summarize my experience and from time to time I’ll compare it with Seoul. The following picture shows the most important historical figures for Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek and China Sun Yat-sen sitting in a train.

Chiang-Kai-shek

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New Generation of Trams

There aren’t any trams in Seoul since fifty years, but it doesn’t mean that Korea completely abandoned the idea of trams. Actually, Korea currently works on the development of new tram systems. In 2012 the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs decided to focus on one special kind of tram (via KBS):

The government has designated bimodal trams and magnet-embedded tracks as new transportation technologies.
Bimodal trams are built by applying railway technologies into buses. Bimodal trams are a new type of transportation that boasts the flexibility of buses and periodicity of trains. The trams are controlled electronically, provide a smoother ride for passengers, and can be automatically operated on dedicated tracks with magnets embedded in them.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs explained that such technologies are eco-friendly systems that could be used to replace light rail vehicles.

It’s great that South Koreal pursues development into this particular direction. There are some points which I would like to discuss: Bimodal trams, magnet-embedded tracks, replacement of light rail. We’ll start with the last one point. Read more of this post

PRT System to Open for Suncheon Bay Garden Expo

Update: The PRT line will not be opening as planned on April 20 and according to recent sightings at the venue, construction is still ongoing. Keep an eye out for updates.

Spring is not too far off and this April will see the opening of a new PRT(personal rapid transport) system in Suncheon Bay, a coastal eco-park in South Cheolla famous for its nature, wetlands and wildlife. The opening of the line will come sometime after the opening Suncheon Bay Garden Expo, an international festival which will be held for six months from April 20 to October 20. If you’re more interested in what the festival has to offer than the transport, check out the bottom of this post. Read more of this post

History of Trams in Seoul

Most of you might not know that there was a streetcar running through the heart of Seoul in the last century because today there are no traces of rails or anything else left in the city. From the end of the 19th century until 1968 there were several tram lines running through the town. They got replaced by private vehicles and a subway system. A description how it was over 100 years ago gives us Andrei Lankov with his article “The rise and fall of the Seoul tram”. The article says that, as the first tram started operating on May 17 in 1899, Seoul became the second East Asian city with trams. Read more of this post

Upcoming Lines: U Line – Light Rail Arrives in Uijeongbu

Updated:

If you have looked up at the subway map recently, no doubt you would have noticed a few new things. While the line may come as a surprise to many, the residents of the Uijeongbu area will have become accustomed to seeing huge pillars go up since construction started in July 2007. Read more of this post

Daegu’s Third Line to be Monorail

The Eunha Galaxy Rail is not the only upcoming monorail in South Korea. Daegu’s third rail transport line will be a bi-directional monorail which stretches across the city and passes through both lines 1 and 2. Construction began in July 2009 is expected to be finished in October 2014. The line starts off at Northern Daegu in Dongho-dong(동호동) and continues down through the centre of the city and finishes in the southern suburb of Beommul-dong(범물동). A monorail was chosen over light-rail due to the cheaper cost and shorter construction time. A promotional video for the monorail line can be viewed below. Read more of this post

Yongin Everline to Finally Open

Update: The line is now expected to open in April 17, 2013.

On the 16th of February, Yonhap News reported that the Yongin Everline would start making preparations to begin operating by the end of this year. Yongin City announced that talks had reached their final stages and that an agreement would be signed by at least mid-March. As mentioned in my previous post, the completed line has been lying dormant for 1 year and 8 months after a number of factors caused the business to fall into limbo. The original contract between the city and Yongin Everline was cancelled in March 2011. Once the agreement is signed, 160 new staff will need to be hired and trained to use the systems so that the line can open sometime this year. As usual, pricing for the service will need to be decided but a basic fare is expected to be approximately 1000-1,100 won which would also be integrated with the metro system for discounted transfers between the subway and buses.

Click here to view more details about the Yongin Everline.

I will update this same post with more information about the current situation at a later time.

Image: Ian Han - Transport Reviewer

Image: Ian Han – Transport Reviewer

Sources: Yonhap News | Kojects

Maglev at Incheon International Airport to be completed this year

Incheon International Airport will become home to Korea’s first commercial urban maglev train line once completed in July this year but will not officially begin operating until October 2013. The trial line is only 6.1 kilometers long and travels from Incheon’s Transport Center to the Yongyoo-Muui Tourist Complex which is also under development. Read more of this post

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