The number of passengers utilizing South Korea’s railway services surged to a record-breaking over 42 million in the initial quarter of the year. This increase was attributed to expanded train operations and escalating oil prices, which discouraged private vehicle usage. Specifically, high-speed KTX and other railway lines saw a total of 42.11 million passengers from January to March, marking a 2.1 percent rise from the previous year.
Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) highlighted that the rise in passenger numbers was facilitated by enhanced services, such as the KTX-Eum train on the Donghae Line and increased service frequency on the Jungang Line. These improvements led to a significant boost in rail passengers. Additionally, industry experts noted that the spike in oil prices resulting from the Middle East conflict in late February played a role in reducing private car usage and driving up public transportation demand.
In March alone, the data revealed that the number of rail passengers hit 14.62 million, showcasing a 2.4 percent increase from the previous year and a notable 7.3 percent surge from the preceding month. Furthermore, the count of foreign individuals utilizing South Korea’s railway services nearly doubled in the first half of the previous year, reaching close to 3 million passengers. This growth trend was evident in the total of 85.09 million passengers using railway services from January to June, with foreigners accounting for 2.84 million passengers, or 3.3 percent of the total.
