[20-Year-Old KTX] Half-Day Living Zone Flies 1 Billion People... The Entire Country Feels Like One Neighborhood

KTX 20th Anniversary... 75% of Nationwide Destinations Reachable Within One Hour
Cumulative Passengers Surpass 1 Billion as of Late August Last Year
'Positive Impact' from Urban Expansion and Population Growth

KTX-Sancheon operation scene / Photo by Korea Railroad Corporation

It has been 20 years since the Korea Train Express (KTX), which travels between Seoul and Busan in just over two hours, was launched. Starting its first commercial operation on April 1, 2004, KTX became the fifth high-speed train in the world, sparking a speed revolution in the history of transportation in South Korea.

The entire country entered a half-day living zone thanks to KTX. By saving personal time and improving transportation convenience, it significantly enhanced work efficiency and played a major role in boosting national competitiveness. Socially, the increased rail transport capacity led to benefits such as reduced logistics costs and alleviated traffic congestion.

KTX ridden more than 20 times per citizen... Stops at 69 stations on 8 lines

KTX quickly became a part of everyday life. The number of KTX passengers surpassed 1 million just 14 days after its launch. This was faster than France and Spain, which took 3 months to reach 1 million passengers, Eurostar which took 6 months, and Japan’s Shinkansen which took 16 days. The number of KTX passengers exceeded 10 million within 142 days of opening.

By December 2006, less than three years after opening, the daily average number of passengers exceeded 100,000. As of August 31 last year, the cumulative number of KTX passengers surpassed 1 billion. This means that the 51.5 million people in South Korea have ridden KTX more than 20 times per person over the past 20 years. Last year, the daily average number of passengers was about 229,000, more than three times the 72,000 passengers on the first year of operation.

Passengers mainly used KTX for business and work trips. According to a 2021 survey by the Korea Transport Institute, the usage purposes were ranked as follows: ▲returning home/returning to work/others 36.3% ▲job-related 20.3% ▲visiting relatives 16.8% ▲leisure, exercise, tourism, and recreation 11.6%. The cumulative operating distance reached 630 million kilometers, equivalent to circling the Earth 15,800 times.

Currently, KTX operates on 8 lines and stops at 69 stations, serving as a major artery connecting the metropolitan area and regional areas. Specifically, on March 2, 2010, the Korean high-speed train KTX-Sancheon began operation, expanding service to the Gyeongjeon Line (Seoul~Jinju), Jeolla Line (Yongsan~Yeosu Expo), and Donghae Line (Seoul~Pohang). The Gangneung Line (Seoul~Gangneung) opened in December 2017 in time for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. In January 2021, the distributed power high-speed train KTX-Eum started running on the Jungang Line (Cheongnyangni~Andong).

As long-distance rail traffic increased, the land area accessible within 60 minutes grew from 37.5% in 2004 to 75.1% in 2021. The population within the KTX influence zone also increased from 82.0% to 94.6% during the same period. This contributed to the high positive perception rates in a survey on KTX’s impact on regional economies (Korea Transport Institute, 2021), with Seoul Station at 64.0%, Gangneung Station at 74.3%, Yeosu Expo Station at 66.7%, and Iksan Station at 64.0%.

Effect of reduced time for the entire productive population worth 2 trillion won... Contributed to regional population growth

The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements estimated the average nationwide potential net effect of improved accessibility due to high-speed rail at 0.7 hours. Considering the potential value of one hour of work time at about 80,000 won, and converting the time reduction effect per person to the entire working-age population (15-64 years old), the total effect amounts to approximately 2 trillion won. Among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, the accessibility improvement effect was greatest in Gwangju (1.7 hours) and Gangwon (1.4 hours), followed by Jeonnam (1.2 hours) and Jeonbuk (1.1 hours).

Improved accessibility helped increase the population and number of businesses in the affected areas. Particularly notable was the urban sprawl. Comparing the 2000s and 2010s, after the opening of high-speed rail, with the 1990s and 2000s before opening, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements analyzed that commercial district development and apartment construction occurred around Gwangju Songjeong Station and Cheonan-Asan Station, which are located on the outskirts of city centers. In fact, in 2004, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation developed 1.07 million pyeong out of 8.86 million pyeong in Baebang-myeon (now Baebang-eup) and Tangjeong-myeon in Asan City, and the Buldang-dong area in Cheonan City as a station hinterland city in conjunction with the opening of Cheonan-Asan Station.

Yu Hyun-ah, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, said, "The population of Samnam-eup, where Ulsan (Tongdosa) Station is located, increased by 36.6% from 2012 to 2022." However, the impact on the number of workers was not significant, and even cities with similar population sizes showed different floating populations depending on the station location. Researcher Yu added, "For example, comparing Gangneung City and Gongju City, both with populations between 100,000 and 200,000, the floating population within a 3 km radius of the high-speed rail station was about 205 times greater at the downtown-type Gangneung Station than at Gongju Station."

For balanced national development mediated by high-speed rail in the future, it is necessary to "maximize the use of existing high-speed lines to connect transportation networks of major hub cities and establish an integrated transportation system among different modes of transport to reduce accessibility gaps." Furthermore, "expanding the participation and roles of local governments suited to the era of decentralization, and conducting specific surveys and case studies to develop station-specific revitalization plans are required."

Meanwhile, Korail plans to introduce another distributed power high-speed train (EMU-320) this year to further improve transportation efficiency. This train, capable of speeds over 300 km/h, is currently undergoing test runs on the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines and is scheduled to operate on some sections replacing KTX within the first half of this year. The name is currently being selected through a public contest.