Commuter headaches abound as rail workers strike

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Commuter headaches abound as rail workers strike

Published: 14 Sep. 2023, 18:32

CHO JUNG-WOO
cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr

A screen at Dongdaegu Station says train services are suspended on Monday due to a walkout staged by the Korean Railway Workers' Union which will last from 9 a.m. Thursday through 9 a.m. Monday. [NEWS1]

Unionized rail workers went on a four-day strike on Thursday, causing inconvenience to citizens who commute during rush hours and travel long distances from cities outside the greater Seoul area.

The Korea Railway Workers’ Union began its strike at 9 a.m. Thursday to demand better working conditions and an extension of the KTX bullet train service to Suseo Station in southern Seoul. The station is included only in the routes of another high-speed train called the SRT.

This marks the first time in four years the union staged a walkout nationwide, which will last through 9 a.m. Monday.

Korail said it plans to maintain subway operations in the greater Seoul area at 70 percent of normal levels, while operating the KTX bullet train at 68 percent and the Mugunhwa and Saemaeul trains at 58 percent and 63 percent, respectively.

In Seoul, the operation of subway cars on line No. 1 was delayed from 8:30 a.m., even before the planned time of the walkout.

“I left home as soon as I heard that there will be a strike today,” a 37-year-old office worker told the JoongAng Ilbo at around 9 a.m. near City Hall Station.

“My company has flexible work hours so I usually go to work at 10 a.m. to avoid rush hour, but I feel already exhausted thinking about getting on a crowded subway train.”

Others who were unaware of the strike stood confused on the platform.

“I was wondering what was happening because the subway hadn't arrived for about 10 minutes when it usually takes only 4 to 5 minutes,” said a 41-year-old office worker who commutes from Eunpyeong District, northern Seoul, to Jongno District in central Seoul.

“I only knew about it after a screen at the platform said there was a strike.”

The strike on Thursday also affected those taking KTX bullet trains from other cities.

“I had to buy a bus ticket at the last minute because the train ticket that I booked to attend an event in Seoul on Saturday was canceled,” a 21-year-old university student living in Yuseong District in Daejeon said.

“But there were no available returning bus tickets at the time I wanted so I am thinking about staying one night in Seoul.”

Another person who travels from Busan to Seoul once or twice a week for work said he is looking for other means of transportation such as planes as most trains were canceled or sold out.

Metropolitan governments in the greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi, busily drew up measures to minimize the citizens’ inconvenience brought on by the strike.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government decided to increase the frequency of operation for subway lines No. 1, 3 and 4, jointly operated by Seoul Metro and Korail, by a factor of 18.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government will add 98 more buses to 11 routes in the province. During morning rush hour, the provincial government will add 59 intercity buses and 18 city buses.

The Incheon Metropolitan Government will add two more trains on subway line No. 7 during morning rush hour on Friday and Monday. The metropolitan government will also select major transfer stations and popular stations and deploy buses at these stations.

Korail on Thursday afternoon announced that it will temporarily operate two KTX bullet trains that will each depart from Seoul Station in central Seoul and Haengsin Station in Gyeonggi to Busan at 7:34 p.m. and 6:02 p.m.

BY KIM MIN-JEONG, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]