Fire on Electric Train at Yongin Giheung Station... 600 Commuters Evacuated During Morning Rush

Fire on train at Giheung Station tracks at 7 AM on the 18th
About 600 passengers evacuated immediately, fire fully extinguished
Downbound line operating non-stop, upbound line operating normally

Suin-Bundang Line Giheung Station. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 18th (today), at around 7:32 AM during the morning rush hour, a fire broke out on the top of an electric train stopped on the down line towards Gosaek inside Giheung Station on the Suin-Bundang Line in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province.

After receiving the fire report, the fire authorities dispatched about 80 personnel including firefighters and 34 pieces of equipment to the scene, and completely extinguished the fire by 7:55 AM using fire extinguishers. When the fire broke out, about 600 passengers on board the train immediately disembarked and evacuated, and fortunately, there were no casualties reported due to the fire.

Due to the fire, down line trains passing through Giheung Station are currently operating without stopping, while the up line and Yongin Light Rail Transit (Everline) are operating normally.

KORAIL stated that the fire is believed to have started from the electric power supply device installed on the exterior top of the electric train, and plans to investigate the detailed cause of the fire. In this regard, Yongin City announced through a disaster text message today, "Due to the fire at Giheung Station in Yongin City at 07:32 today, trains are currently operating without stopping."