Two taken to hospital after overcrowding on Gimpo Goldline

Social Affairs

Published: 18 Dec. 2023, 13:09 Updated: 18 Dec. 2023, 14:11

Two taken to hospital after overcrowding on Gimpo Goldline

A notice that the Gimpo Goldline trains being temporarily suspended hangs on the entrance to Gurae station in Gimpo, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [YONHAP]

Two subway riders, both women, were taken to hospital after they suffered an anxiety attack while onboard a crowded train on the Gimpo Goldline on Monday.

Subway stations on the line had been overcrowded in the morning due to the train service being disrupted for 50 minutes earlier in the day.

According to the subway line operator, the incident happened at 7:47 a.m. on Monday while the two, one in her 50s and one in her 20s, were onboard a train that was stopping at Gochon Station.

They were stuck in the car for 15 minutes before they were taken off the train.

Subway service on the line was suspended between 7:24 a.m. and 8:15 after an outbound train broke down while going from Geolpo Bukbyeon Station to Unyang Station at 6:23 a.m.

The Gimpo Goldline is also commonly called the "hell train," as it often gets overcrowded during the rush hour.

The Yongin EverLine was also suspended for nearly three hours on Monday morning after a glitch in the signaling system at 7:57 a.m. along the route between Giheung Station and Samga Station, according to the line's operator.

The Yongin city government sent out a safety warning message at 8:39, which read, "The light rail service has been suspended as of 8 a.m. because of [system] error."

The service was resumed at 10:44 a.m.

"It appears that the cold snap caused a short-circuit on a railway switch, resulting in the system glitch," an official from the city government said.

The city will look into the cause of the malfunction.

The Korean Peninsula has been under extreme cold for the past three days since Saturday. On Monday morning, the temperature dropped to minus 12.3 degrees Celsius in the southern Gyeonggi region. Seoul recorded minus 11 degrees Celsius.

BY LEE HO-JEONG, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]