Gangwon Province Welcomes Increased KTX Services on Gangneung and Donghae Lines
Two Additional Round Trips on Gangneung Line, Three New Round Trips on Donghae Line
Significant Improvement in Accessibility for Gangwon Region... A New Era of KTX Begins
The accessibility of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) is expected to improve significantly with the confirmed increase in KTX-Eum train services.
Gangwon Province immediately welcomed the announcement by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) that, starting from the 30th, KTX services on the Gangneung Line (Cheongnyangni-Gangneung) and Donghae Line (Bujeon-Gangneung) will be increased.
Until now, the province has consistently requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and KORAIL to add more KTX-Eum services on the Gangneung and Donghae Lines, aiming to alleviate booking inconveniences for residents and improve accessibility for tourists. As a result, by the end of this year, five additional round-trip KTX services on both the Gangneung and Donghae Lines have been confirmed.
The Gangneung Line KTX, which started with 4.7 million passengers in its opening year of 2018 and is expected to reach 6 million this year, has seen a 30% increase in passengers over the past six years, making it a leading revenue-generating route in Korea. However, due to insufficient train supply, tourists and local residents have faced significant difficulties in securing tickets.
With the additional KTX services on the Gangneung Line, there will be 22 round trips on weekdays and 32 round trips on weekends.
The two additional round-trip KTX services will allow up to 1,520 more passengers per day, bringing the daily average to 18,120 passengers and an estimated annual total of 6.6 million passengers.
Meanwhile, since the opening of ITX-Maum on the Donghae Line in January 2025, cumulative passenger numbers surpassed 1.81 million by the end of November, making it the most popular among the six new lines launched this year.
However, the ITX-Maum service between Gangneung and Bujeon (150 km/h) takes about five hours, resulting in long travel times and ongoing ticketing difficulties. This has led to continuous calls for the introduction of additional high-speed trains capable of 250 km/h.
With the introduction of three new round-trip KTX-Eum services on the Donghae Line, travel time between Bujeon and Gangneung will be significantly reduced from five hours to around three hours and fifty minutes. The maximum daily passenger capacity will increase by 2,280, with an expected daily average of 7,780 passengers and an annual total of 2.84 million, leading to a substantial rise in ridership.
Governor Kim Jin-tae stated, "I sincerely welcome the additional KTX services on the Gangneung and Donghae Lines and thank the officials at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and KORAIL. As these already popular lines become even more accessible through this adjustment, I expect even more people will be able to visit Gangwon Province conveniently."
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