Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) announced on the 28th that reservations for train tickets during next year’s Lunar New Year holiday will be available for four days from January 8 to 11.
The reservation targets are KTX, ITX-Saemaeul, Mugunghwa trains, and others operating from February 8 to 12.
Reservations can be made non-face-to-face (100%) online via PC or mobile, or by phone (customer center). When booking online, users must use the ‘Holiday Train Ticket Reservation Dedicated Website.’
KORAIL will conduct separate reservations on January 8 and 9 for transportation-vulnerable groups such as seniors, persons with disabilities, and national merit recipients (transportation support targets). From the 10th, anyone can make reservations.
Tickets can be reserved up to 6 per person per transaction (maximum 12 tickets). This also applies equally to seniors, persons with disabilities, and national merit recipients (transportation support targets).
For next year’s Lunar New Year holiday train ticket reservations, KORAIL adjusted the ratio of seats sold and the schedule to improve convenience for transportation-vulnerable groups. The seat allocation ratio for these groups has been expanded from the previous 10% to 20%, with 10% each allocated exclusively for phone reservations and internet reservations.
Phone reservations have also been improved from the previous method of handling all routes in one day to being conducted over two days, so KORAIL emphasized that it is advisable to check the reservation dates for each route in advance.
The routes available for reservation on the first day (January 8) are Gyeongbu, Gyeongjeon, Donghae, Daegu, Chungbuk, Jungbu Naeryuk, and Gyeongbuk lines; the routes for the second day (January 9) are Honam, Jeolla, Gangneung, Janghang, Jungang, Taebaek, Yeongdong, and Gyeongchun lines.
Reservations on January 8 and 9 will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are limited to transportation-vulnerable groups such as seniors aged 65 and older, registered persons with disabilities under the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act, and national merit recipients (transportation support targets).
In principle, non-members must register as railroad members before making online reservations, but transportation-vulnerable groups can also make reservations by phone.
However, persons with disabilities must authenticate in real-time with the Ministry of Health and Welfare using their resident registration number, and national merit recipients (transportation support targets) must authenticate using their merit number to make reservations.
From January 10 to 11, tickets must be reserved online via the KORAIL website or the KORAIL Talk app.
The routes by date are divided as follows: January 10 ? Gyeongbu, Gyeongjeon, Donghae, Daegu, Chungbuk, Jungbu Naeryuk, and Gyeongbuk lines; January 11 ? Honam, Jeolla, Gangneung, Janghang, Jungang, Taebaek, Yeongdong, and Gyeongchun lines.
For mobile reservations, after logging in as a member, users must click the link provided in KORAIL Talk to access the holiday train ticket reservation dedicated website or directly enter the dedicated website address in a web browser.
KORAIL will operate the ‘Holiday Train Ticket Reservation Dedicated Website’ in advance from 2 p.m. on January 5 to reduce errors during the reservation process. At this time, users can verify their railroad membership number and password, experience the holiday ticket reservation method in advance, and receive train timetable guidance.
Customers who are persons with disabilities or national merit recipients (transportation support targets) must register in advance. Additionally, visually impaired, physically disabled, and brain lesion disabled members have their reservation time extended by 30 minutes and can pre-save travel information such as preferred date, train type, and section to use during the reservation period.
Tickets reserved online or by phone during the advance reservation period must be paid for between 3 p.m. on January 11 and midnight on January 14. Tickets not paid for within the designated period will be automatically canceled and allocated to those on the waiting list.
Unsold remaining seats will be sold from 3 p.m. on January 11 through KORAIL’s website, KORAIL Talk, station counters, and other online and offline channels, just like regular tickets.
Han Moon-hee, President of KORAIL, said, “For next year’s Lunar New Year holiday, we are expanding the period and the proportion of dedicated seats to support transportation-vulnerable groups who find online reservations difficult. KORAIL will do its best in system checks and customer guidance to ensure that all customers traveling home by train can conveniently make reservations.”
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