Rail Union Strike D-1, Gyeongnam Province Emergency Transport Measures Situation Room Activated

The National Railway Workers' Union has announced a general strike for four days starting at 9 a.m. on the 14th, and Gyeongnam Province has announced that it will operate an emergency transportation countermeasure situation room.

On the 13th, Gyeongnam Province prepared emergency transportation countermeasures in response to the government's measures against the railway union strike, which is just one day away, and has been operating the situation room since that day.

The province expects that the Suseo-bound high-speed train (SRT) operated by Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) will run as usual, but train operations on the Gyeongjeon Line and Gyeongbu Line sections will decrease by 20 to 30% compared to normal times.

According to the province, the Gyeongjeon Line KTX operates 28 times on weekdays and 36 times from Friday to Sunday, based on Masan Station.

During the four-day strike period, two trains departing from Masan and four trains departing from Jinju are scheduled to be suspended, which may vary depending on the deployment of substitute personnel.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The province urged passengers to check train operation information on the Korea Railroad Corporation website 'Let's Korail' or the mobile app 'KorailTalk' before using the train.

Kim Young-sam, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau, said, "We will systematically operate the situation room until the strike ends and minimize inconvenience to residents by responding step-by-step according to the railway operation situation, such as increasing intercity buses and enhancing freight transportation capacity."

Earlier, the railway union went on strike demanding ▲withdrawal of the reduction of the Busan~Suseo route and operation of Suseo-bound KTX ▲changing the Busan~Seoul KTX terminal station to Suseo Station ▲connecting operation of KTX and SRT ▲urging sincere negotiations and implementation of agreements ▲implementation of a four-shift two-team system.

According to the union, 19,825 members, accounting for 64.4% of the total 21,938 union members, voted in favor of the dispute, and even after this fixed-term strike, if no agreement is reached with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korail, they plan to proceed with additional strikes.