Public Transport in Taipei

March 31, 2013 by 8 Comments

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

Read more of this post

Filed under Bus, Heavy Rail, Light Rail, Subway/Metro Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

The Saemaul Service Gets Renamed!…to ITX-Saemaul

February 27, 2013 by 6 Comments

Korail has announced the name of the new Saemaul trains which will begin running in the first half of 2014. After holding a naming competition where 1941 entries were collected, the train has been renamed the “ITX-Saemaul”.

17939123945126b2ef00fa6

Image: Korail

Read more of this post

Filed under General News and Updates, Heavy Rail Tagged with , ,

Gyeongwon Line Extension to Gangwondo opens in November

September 23, 2012 by 2 Comments

Image: Seonjong Park

As part of the plans to restore another rail link to North Korea, the Gyeongwon line branch which currently terminates at Shintanri Station (신탄리역) will be extended to Baekmagoji Station (백마고지역) in Cheorwon, Gangwondo on November 20. Prior to the Korean war, trains would travel between Yongsan and Wonsan using the line which was built in 1914. Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, Gangwon Province, General News and Updates, Heavy Rail Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Line Extensions: Jungang Line Revamp Extends to Wonju

August 27, 2012 by 3 Comments

In the past few years it has become increasingly easier to travel between Seoul and its surrounding areas and cities, previously only accessible by buses or standard trains. Lines such as the Gyeongui Line (경의선), Gyeongchun Line (경춘선) and Jungang Line (중앙선) have been completely revamped, straightened, electrified, double tracked and integrated into Seoul’s metropolitan transport system. Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, Gangwon Province, General News and Updates, Heavy Rail, Subway/Metro Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Suin Line from Oido to Incheon to Open June 30

June 25, 2012 by 5 Comments

2012 is a big year for rail transport around the country, with several extensions and new lines to be opened, many towards the end of the year. One of the new lines which will open a little sooner is the Suin Line(수인선). The first part of the line will open on the 30th of June  and runs from Oido(오이도) Station(Line 4) to Songdo(송도). Eventually the northern end will be extended to Incheon Station and the southern end to Suwon station. Incheon Metro Line 1 will also connect with the first section at Woninjae Station. It is estimated that the new line will serve approximately 150,000 passengers and trains will run more regularly on Incheon’s Line 1 to deal with the increased demand from transferring passengers. Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, General News and Updates, Heavy Rail, Incheon Tagged with , , , , , ,

Commuter Train from South Korea’s most Northern Railhead to Resume Service

March 18, 2012 by 1 Comment

Last month Korail announced that commuter trains from Shintan-ri(신탄리) to Dongducheon(동두천) would begin operating again from the 21st of March after restoring the Choseong Bridge in Yeoncheon. The bridge was washed away by 637㎜ of torrential rain in July last year, cutting off several northern stations on the Gyeongwon Line (경원선) from the rail network including Shintan-ri, Yeoncheon(연천) and Hantangang(한탄강).  Shintan-ri Station is South Korea’s most northern rail terminus in use and lies just several kilometres south of the DMZ. Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, General News and Updates, Gyeonggi Province, Heavy Rail, Public Infrastructure Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Two-Storey Trains to begin operating to Chuncheon

February 23, 2012 by 16 Comments

Update: The ITX is now operating and a great assortment of photos from inside the new carriages can be viewed at Ian Han’s blog here. Also, some have been searching for the ITX timetable. You can check the departure times when you book online or download the timetable (Korean) here.

From Tuesday (2/28) next week, the new two-storey ITX trains will begin operating from Yongsan to Chuncheon. Tickets can be booked from tomorrow online (2/24), at stations or through Korail’s GLORY app. Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, Gangwon Province, General News and Updates, Gyeonggi Province, Heavy Rail, Subway/Metro Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Noryangjin Station to get Transfer Tunnel

February 4, 2012 by 7 Comments

Though not a major project by any means, sometimes smaller projects are not without problems. Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, General News and Updates, Heavy Rail, Seoul Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Upcoming Lines: Pyeongchang Edition – From Wonju to Gangneung

July 14, 2011 by 1 Comment

[Updated 9/12/12]Now that Pyeongchang has finally secured the 2018 Winter Olympics there is no doubt that for the next six and a half years planners, organisers and contractors have their work cut out for them. At the presentation to the IOC, many were surprised when plans were announced to build a high-speed rail link from Incheon International Airport to Pyeongchang. After some controversy, it turned out the the “high-speed rail link” was in fact a line to Gangneung that was already planned.

You may have heard about this line which will be built from Wonju Gangneung. Many will jump to the conclusion that this line is being built specifically for the Olympics but in fact, this line has been planned since as far back as 1996.
Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, Gangwon Province, Heavy Rail, Large Scale Projects Tagged with , , ,

Long Term Projects: KTXs in Gangnam? It’s happening!

July 2, 2011 by 2 Comments

Today we look at our first long term project. While a good part of South Korea is accessible to Seoulites by rail, sometimes getting to the train station can be a mission in itself, especially for those who live in south-east Seoul or the cities of Seongnam, Gwangju(Gyeonggi) and Yongin.

As of June 28 2011, construction commenced on a high-speed(KTX) rail spur from Pyeongtaek to Suseo station in Gangnam-gu. This line connects to the mainline at Pyeongtaek and thus to the rest of the country. Basically you will be able to get a KTX train from Gangnam to Busan, Gwangju(Jeolla) or wherever else you may want to go that is part of the high-speed network. There is also another station on the line in Dongtan, a new(ish) city in Gyeonggi Province.

I know you’re eager to see a photo first rather than have me explain it so here you go. The new spur is in red.
Read more of this post

Filed under Categories, Heavy Rail, Large Scale Projects, Seoul Tagged with , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 149 other followers