Seoul Metro to pilot seatless subway cars during rush hour

A seatless subway car is seen in this photo provided by Seoul Metro. [YONHAP]

Seoul Metro, the operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1 to 8, plans to pilot seatless subway cars next year to alleviate overcrowding during the morning and evening rush hour, officials said Wednesday.

Under the pilot program set to commence in January, seats inside two cars of each subway train running on Line 4 and Line 7 during the morning and evening commuting period will be removed to create more space for passengers, the officials said.

As of the third quarter of this year, congestion levels inside subway cars on Line 4 and Line 7 reached 193.4 percent and 164.2 percent of their accommodation capacity during the busiest hours, respectively, according to Seoul Metro.

The subway operator predicts that removing seats will reduce the maximum congestion level to 153.4 percent on Line 4 and 130.1 percent on Line 7 per subway car.

Over the long run, Seoul Metro seeks to expand seatless subway cars on the two subway lines to resolve subway overcrowding.

"If the effectiveness of the pilot project is confirmed, Seoul Metro plans to further expand the reach of the project to help citizens use subway services more comfortably and safely," Seoul Metro CEO Baek Ho said.

Yonhap