Seoul Metro to operate seatless subway cars on line No. 4 from Wednesday

Passengers stand in a seatless subway car that will start running along subway line No. 4 on Wednesday. [SEOUL METRO]

Seatless subway trains will begin operating in Seoul starting Wednesday as part of efforts to alleviate overcrowding during the morning and evening rush hours.

Seoul Metro, the capital's subway operator, announced on Tuesday that it will conduct a pilot run of seatless subway trains on subway line No. 4.

During the morning rush hour, the No. 3 carriages of trains on subway line No. 4 will operate without seats.

Subway congestion on line No. 4 reached 193.4 percent of capacity in the third quarter of last year, the highest among the eight subway lines in the capital.

The subway operator expects the pilot program to reduce congestion levels to as low as 40 percent by adding 12.6 square meters of additional space to the carriages. Subway poles, handles and backrest cushions have been installed for safety.

After monitoring the effects of the pilot run, Seoul Metro will consider expanding seatless subway carriages to other subway lines.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]