KTX Reservation War... Endless "Refreshing"

Passenger Numbers Up 3.5 Times, Tickets Constantly Sold Out
Frequent Logins to Snag Canceled Seats

Recently, KTX trains have been selling out constantly on both weekdays and weekends, sparking a "reservation war."

A train is stopped at the SRT platform of Suseo Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Korea Railroad Corporation on December 23, the average daily number of KTX passengers this year reached 251,000, which is 3.5 times higher than when the service began in 2004. However, it is difficult to add more trains because the track capacity of the Pyeongtaek-Osong section, which is used by both the Gyeongbu Line and Honam Line, is already saturated. To address this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to complete the project to add a second set of double tracks to the Gyeongbu High-Speed Line by 2028.

However, the immediate inconvenience falls squarely on the shoulders of citizens. Bang Seunghwan, a 26-year-old university student, said, "Starting two weeks before departure, I do everything I can-waiting for reservations, boarding at intermediate stations, standing tickets, and unreserved seats." Ji, a 26-year-old office worker who commutes from Asan in South Chungcheong Province to Seoul, shared, "During rush hour, KTX trains are packed with no empty seats. I take the 9 p.m. train home every day, but if I can't get a ticket for that time, my return is delayed."

Given these circumstances, constantly refreshing the KTX reservation page has become essential in order to snatch up canceled tickets amid sold-out reservation windows. Passengers frequently refresh the booking page to secure tickets just before boarding, or they use ticket agencies that obtain canceled tickets on their behalf for an extra fee. In some cases, when tickets are unavailable, some people even resort to boarding the train without a valid ticket, hoping to find a way to travel regardless.

Kim Kyungtaek, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Transport Institute's Railway Transport Research Division, explained, "The demand for high-speed rail is already at saturation, making it difficult to secure seats." He added, "In the mid- to long-term, we need to expand the tracks and increase the number of trains through the double-tracking of the Pyeongtaek-Osong section." He also suggested, "In the short term, it is necessary to significantly adjust discount fares for late night and early morning hours and diversify fare structures to give users more options and disperse demand that is concentrated at certain times."