1 a.m. last trains return to some subway lines

Some of Seoul’s subways return Monday to normal operating hours, which were shortened during the pandemic.

The extension of daily operation hours will start with private subway lines including Line 9, the Ui light rapid transit (LRT), and the Sillim Line, which will be extended to 1 a.m. from Monday, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday.

Starting June 7, Subway line 2 and lines 5 to 8, operated by Seoul Metro, will run through 1 a.m.

However, the lines will continue to stop at midnight on weekends and public holidays.

The operating hours of lines 2 and 5 to 8 were reduced by one hour to midnight since April 2020 because of the pandemic.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government decided to resume late-night operations to solve late-night transportation shortages after social distancing restrictions were lifted and entertainment and travel rebounded.

The city government expects the new measure to increase the number of subway train runs by 161 to 3,788, transporting up to 240,000 more passengers a day.

It added that the last subway time may vary by route and line, and it must be checked. New timetables can be found in each subway station, on the official website or the Ttota mobile application.

Extending the operating hours of subway lines 1, 3, and 4, which are jointly run by Seoul Metro and KORAIL, are under discussion, and may happen in early July, the city government said.

“Since the lifting of social distancing rules on April 18, measures have been taken to ease the inconvenience felt by late-night travels, such as lifting operating restrictions on taxis, expanding night-time Owl Buses and extending last bus timings,” said Baek Ho, head of the department of city traffic at the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

“Once the late-night subway service is implemented — which is the last step — it will normalize traffic operations and ease the inconvenience of citizens moving late at night,” Baek added.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]