[Sponsored Report] Foreigners prefer AREX’s faster train

Left: The express train travels nonstop for 43 minutes between Seoul Station and Incheon International Airport. Right: Passengers sit on the ordinary AREX train, which stops at all 10 stations between Seoul Station and Incheon.

Korea Railroad Corporation’s Airport Railroad Express (AREX), which connects Incheon International Airport to central Seoul, has been welcoming foreigners aboard.

One out of five AREX passengers between January and July this year were foreigners, Korail said through a press release.

According to the state-run railway operator, an analysis of 2.7 million tickets bought during that period revealed that Koreans accounted for 79.4 percent of passengers, while foreigners made up the remaining 20.6 percent.

The AREX currently offers two types of train services: an ordinary all-stop train and the express train. While the ordinary train makes stops at all 10 stations between Incheon International Airport and Seoul Station, the high-end express train travels nonstop for 43 minutes.

The nonstop express train is strongly favored by foreign passengers.

“It is very difficult to carry huge bags onboard ordinary trains, because they are often crowded with commuters. Thus, express trains with a personal seating system and more comfortable spaces are more popular among foreign passengers who wish to relax after long-distance flights,” said a Korail official, explaining why the express train is usually preferred by travelers from overseas.

On analyzing the users of the express train, passengers from English-speaking countries were the most common, comprising 8.9 percent, followed by those from Japan and China, who accounted for 7.8 and 3.9 percent, respectively.

To encourage more visitors from overseas to use the AREX, Korail recently expanded its shuttle bus system connecting Seoul Station to hotels in metropolitan Seoul.

The number of hotels that are part of the scheme running the free-of-charge buses back and forth from Seoul Station has been expanded from two to five.

The list now includes Sky Park Hotel, Sutton Hotel, Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel, Tmark Hotel and Center Mark Hotel. Details such as operating hours are specified on the websites of each hotel.