Seoul to tackle subway station congestion with new safety, convenience measures

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it would roll out a series of measures to ease congestion at five of the capital's busiest subway stations, citing passenger safety and convenience.

Passengers are seen waiting for the subway train at Seoul Staion in central Seoul on Oct. 6, 2022. [YONHAP]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it would roll out a series of measures to ease congestion at five of the capital's busiest subway stations, citing passenger safety and convenience.

The stations targeted for improvement are Hongik University Station in Mapo District, Seoul Station in Yongsan District, Jamsil Station in Songpa District, Gangnam Station in Gangnam District and Sindorim Station in Guro District.

As of October this year, Jamsil Station had the highest daily number of passengers boarding and alighting among all Seoul subway stations, followed by Hongik University Station, Gangnam Station and Seoul Station. Sindorim Station recorded the highest daily number of transferring passengers.

“We selected the five stations based on a comprehensive review of passenger volume, transfer traffic, station layout and overall congestion levels,” a Seoul city official said.

Seoul to ease congestion

To address bottlenecks, the city will begin by improving passenger flow in areas where platforms are cramped due to physical obstructions or where passenger movement is concentrated around a particular exit. By 2026, obstacles will be removed and exit locations restructured.

At Jamsil Station, the city plans to reorganize the crowded transfer corridors and install additional safety fences in high-traffic zones. At Seoul Station, where five lines intersect and transfer distances are long and complex, wayfinding will be improved with updated floor and pillar markings.

A notice warning of crowd congestion is seen inside Hongik University Station on subway Line 2 in Mapo District, western Seoul on Oct. 27, 2023. [NEWS1]

At Hongik University Station, arriving passengers often crowd the concourse exits in the middle of the station, interfering with traffic flow. The city plans to add new exits and expand concourse access to distribute traffic more evenly.

At Gangnam and Sindorim stations, narrow platforms constrained by obstructions will be restructured. In particular, Gangnam Station will relocate one of its busiest concourse exits to reduce congestion.

Seoul Metro, which currently assigns 30 safety personnel across the five transfer stations, will increase the number to 48 starting in 2026 to better manage crowding during peak hours.

Passengers are seen passing through subway ticket gates at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Dec. 2. [YONHAP]

Removing obstacles, relocating exits

For stations where a structural lack of exits, staircases or corridors leads to chronic overcrowding, the city will pursue redesigns.

At Seoul Station, facilities for Lines 1 and 4 — built in the 1970s and 1980s — can no longer accommodate current passenger volumes. Plans are underway to expedite the redesign of the transfer corridors connecting the two lines.

At Hongik University Station, where heavy traffic at Exit 9 has become problematic, the city aims to build a new exit between Exits 8 and 9 by 2029. At Gangnam Station, where platform stairs are currently too narrow, and a feasibility study will be conducted first for expanding the stairways, which will require significant time and funding, the city said.

Since 2022, the city has implemented special congestion reduction measures, such as increasing train frequency during peak hours, which have lowered average train crowding levels by 17 percentage points.

“With the expansion of the greater metropolitan transportation network, congestion on the Seoul subway system is intensifying,” said Yeo Jang-kwon, deputy director of the city transportation office of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. “We will continue to improve safety and convenience for subway passengers.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY MOON HEE-CHUL [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]