New subway train with wider seats to be introduced

The Seoul metropolitan government said Monday it will introduce new subway trains with wider seats beginning late next year.

To be first introduced on Seoul subway's No. 2 line, each seat will be widened so that six people can sit in a row instead of the current seven.

According to the Seoul city administration and Seoul Metro, each seat will be widened to 480 millimeters from present 450 and made of non-combustible materials.

The exterior of the train will feature a white design, according to the manufacturer of the train, but it is still subject to change at the request of the city administration.

A city official said, although the train is designed for unmanned operation, but in actuality drivers will be positioned on the trains to avoid the potential conflict between the new and existing trains.

To start with, the new train system will have a total of 50 cars late next year, and will increase to 200 cars by 2018 for No. 2 line.

A Metro official, however, said some of the new trains will be put into operation on No. 9 line where traffic congestion is severe with the increase of the passengers. (Yonhap)