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New six-carriage trains of Seoul Metro's Line No. 8 are stationed at a train depot near Moran Station. (Seoul Metropolitan Government) |
Line No. 8 of the Seoul Metro, a subway operator of South Korea's capital city, will extend its services to the Byeollae Station in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, by August, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Thursday.
Six new stations will be added along a 12.9-kilometer stretch from Amsa Station, which is currently the last stop for the eastbound subway trains of Line No. 8. Travellers will be able to transfer from Line No. 8 to Gyeongchun Line, and vice versa, at Byeollae Station.
Since beginning construction for the line extension in June 2016, the city government added that it completed a validation test of the facilities surrounding the extended line to make sure that key rail facilities -- such as its tracks, power, signals, ventilation and platform screen doors -- are operating smoothly from Jan. 22 to Apr. 29.
From Saturday, the railway facilities will go through a final test run, simulating the conditions where passengers are on board the extended line.
The final test run is expected to last until August before the extended services will be available to the public.
Once the line is extended, Line No. 8 will run for a total of 30.6 kilometers with 24 stops.
Nine six-carriage trains will also be added following the Line No. 8 extension. Trains will arrive every 4 minutes 30 seconds during rush hour and every 8 minutes during other times.
The overall duration to Jamsil Station from Byeollae Station is also expected to decrease to 27 minutes. Currently, it takes around 44 minutes to complete the journey, factoring in the time needed to transfer between lines.
According to the city government, the newly added trains will also be “more spacious and convenient” for commuters, as the total aisle space will be 300 millimeters wider than previous trains, along with seating areas that are 30 millimeters wider.
