Rail Union Strike Enters Third Day... Afternoon Operation Rate at 70.8%

Cargo 33.9% · KTX 68.1%

On the third day of the railway union strike, on the 16th, a notice about the cancellation of some train services is being displayed at Daejeon Station.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

As the nationwide railway workers' union strike enters its third day, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is working to normalize operations by increasing train service rates.

On the 16th, the ministry announced that as of 3 p.m., the nationwide train operation rate was 70.8% compared to normal times. Out of 1,512 trains, 1,071 were in operation. Although this is an 8.4% decrease from the 79.2% rate at 9 a.m. that day, it corresponds to 102.1% of the originally planned schedule.

By train type, KTX operated at 68.1% (139 out of 204 trains), passenger trains at 59.2% (141 out of 238 trains), freight trains at 33.9% (19 out of 56 trains), and metropolitan subway trains at 76.1% (772 out of 1,014 trains).

On the 15th, as the temporary strike by the National Railway Workers' Union continues, a train is stopped near the 수도권 Cheoldo Charyang Jeongbidan in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

The ministry explained that on the weekend, including the 16th and 17th, trains are being operated flexibly according to congestion levels. By the afternoon, 1,289 substitute personnel had been deployed on site. Additionally, it was decided to cancel 83 more trains scheduled for operation on the 18th, and customers who had made reservations the previous afternoon were notified via text messages and the Korail Talk app.

Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) also operated 7 temporary KTX trains on the 16th and plans to run 6 more on the 17th, adding a total of 13 extra trains over the weekend.

Meanwhile, due to the railway union strike, a total of 1,253 trains have been canceled, including 1,170 trains from the 14th to the 17th and 83 trains on the morning of the 18th.

The ministry is maintaining a "hotline" with the railway union even before the union's announced end time of 9 a.m. on the 18th, leaving room for additional negotiations.

A ministry official said, "Since the union itself announced this as a temporary warning strike, we do not expect the strike period to be extended," adding, "We will make efforts to prevent the strike from lasting longer as it could cause greater inconvenience to the public."