In mid-December 2017, the Korea National Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) officially announced the operation of the Kyeongkang Special Railway Line with specific information on the number of operations, list of stops and other relevant information. The Kyeongkang KTX high-speed railway line will run directly from the Seoul area and neighboring provinces of Gangwon-do, Gyeonggi-do (the capital of Korea) to the east coast of Korea. Previously, before the Kyeongkang line, if passengers wanted to travel from the capital of Korea to Gangwon-do province or the east coast, it would take more than 3 hours by train and bus when traveling by high-speed train, and up to 6 hours if using regular trains. Therefore, the travel itinerary will be greatly affected in terms of time. However, if traveling by Kyeongkang KTX line, when wanting to go to Gangneung city, Gangwon-do province, if passengers depart from Seoul station, it will take 1 hour 54 minutes and if departing from Cheongnyangni station, it will take 1 hour 26 minutes. Thanks to that, visiting the capital area in 1 day becomes easier than ever.
For example: From Cheongnyangni Station (Seoul) – PyeongChang (Gangwon-do): It takes 2 hours and 40 minutes by car, 3 hours by bus with the route Dong Seoul -> Hwengkye -> Resort)
The Kyeongkang KTX high-speed railway will run from Seoul and Cheongnyangni Stations (Seoul) with a frequency of 18 trips/day from Monday to Thursday and 26 trips/day on weekends, from Friday to Sunday. With this frequency, it is estimated that there will be about 19,000 passengers traveling each day via the Kyeongkang railway. The fare for the route from Seoul Station to Gangneung is 27,600 won and the route from Cheongnyangni Station to Gangneung is 26,000 won. Meanwhile, if compared with the fare if traveling from Cheongnyangni Station to Jeongdongjin Station by Mugunghwa train is 21,100 won and express buses, choosing to travel by the Kyeongkang railway will be more economical and save more time for tourists during their trip.
In particular, during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, in order to serve the travel needs of visitors, KORAIL also has a plan to increase the number of seats for passengers. More specifically, for visitors who have not booked a room near the Olympic competition area, KORAIL also has a policy of providing KTX trains at suitable times.
Furthermore, during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games in February 2018, the Kyeongkang KTX high-speed rail line will be extended from Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport directly to Gangneung with 16 trains/day to facilitate airport tourists to travel directly to the Olympic competition venue.
In addition, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in collaboration with the National Railroad Administration has issued a special rail pass called “PyeongChang Korail Pass” specifically for foreign tourists to Korea with many attractive incentives. This pass is available for sale from October 10, 2017 to January 10, 2018 at KORAIL ticket offices nationwide and on the official KORAIL website. The pass is applicable to trains running on the Kyeongkang railway line from February 1, 2018 to March 25, 2018.
Refer to the terms of PyeongChang Korail Pass:
- Offer for passengers who pre-order cards from October 10, 2017 – January 10, 2018
- PyeongChang Korail Pass Plus can be used as a regular transportation card for other public transportation such as subway and bus.
- 5,000 won available in the card received
- Free city tour bus nationwide
- The PyeongChang Korail Pass can be used to ride any train operated by KORAIL on the Kyeongkang KTX line. (Other rail passes are not valid for trains running on the Seoul-Gangneung line from February 1, 2018 to March 25, 2018.)
- PyeongChang Korail Pass holders are allowed to select their seats on trains running on the Kyeongkang Line 2 months before the first day of using the pass (valid from February 1 to February 28, 2018). However, during this period, for trains running on other lines, they will only be able to select their seats 1 month before the first day of using the pass.
- During the Korean Lunar New Year holiday from February 14, 2018 – February 18, 2018, please visit the official KORAIL website for reservation information.
- KORAIL official website: www.letskorail.com/pyeongchang (Go to Q&A section to ask questions)
- KORAIL Inquiries Hotline: +82-1599-7777/ +82-1544-7788
For more information, please visit:
- English website:http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/TRP/TP_ENG_8_4.jsp
For details about the PyeongChang Korail Pass, visit:
- English website:http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/AKR/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=2509360
