Rail services disrupted by Seoul overpass collapse to fully resume on Sun.

Lead

Rail services across South Korea, disrupted by the partial collapse of the Seosomun Overpass in central Seoul earlier this week, will fully resume on Sunday, the state-run rail operator said on Saturday. KORAIL said it completed recovery work and will restore normal operations on all train lines beginning Sunday.

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The collapse of the Seosomun Overpass, which occurred on Tuesday during an on-site safety inspection, killed three people and injured three others. The incident led to significant disruption, with KORAIL reporting that over 120 KTX high-speed trains were suspended or underwent route changes on multiple lines, including the Gyeongbu, Honam, Gyeongjeon, Donghae, and Jeolla lines. Debris from the collapse impacted power lines for the railway between Seoul Station and Sinchon Station, suspending KTX services between Seoul Station and Haengsin Station and halting Gyeongui Line services between Seoul Station and Susaek Station.

The day after the collapse, KORAIL said rail services nationwide would operate at about 80 percent of normal capacity on Wednesday, operating 552 rail services compared with the initially planned 683. High-speed services, including KTX, were expected to be cut from 331 to 245, bringing the operation rate to 74 percent. To mitigate crowding at Seoul Station, KORAIL said it would operate slower Mugunghwa trains on certain sections, such as between Daejeon and Busan.

Seoul Subway Line 2 resumed normal operations early Friday after an overnight safety inspection. The inspection, conducted by Seoul Metro, began Thursday night after the labor ministry approved the city government's plan to resume demolition of the Seosomun Overpass. Operations between Hongik University station and Euljiro 1-ga station were cut an hour earlier than usual for the inspection, with normal operations resuming at 5:51 a.m. Friday.

The Seosomun Overpass was completely demolished on Friday, according to the Seoul city government. The demolition work, which resumed after the labor ministry approved the plan, was completed at 9:40 p.m., about 79 hours after the collapse. The Gyeongui Line railway service, which had been suspended, was set to resume over the weekend. State railway authorities planned to work overnight to resume the service by 5 a.m. Saturday, with plans to run the first train in the morning.

KORAIL said it completed recovery work using all available resources and conducted safety inspections, including test runs of maintenance vehicles and trains, before deciding to return all serviced trains to operation.

Key Claims

• The collapse of the Seosomun Overpass killed three people and injured three others.
• KORAIL will fully restore normal operations on all train lines beginning Sunday.
• Rail services operated at about 80 percent of normal capacity on Wednesday, with 552 services compared to the initially planned 683.
• Over 120 KTX trains were suspended or underwent route changes.
• The Seosomun Overpass was completely demolished on Friday.
• The Gyeongui Line railway service resumed over the weekend.
• Seoul Subway Line 2 resumed normal operations on Friday after an overnight safety inspection.
• KORAIL operated Mugunghwa trains on certain sections to mitigate crowding at Seoul Station.

The Seosomun Overpass, built in 1966, had been undergoing demolition since August last year over safety concerns and was expected to be torn down by next month.