Incheon International Airport — or simply Incheon Airport — is the main international airport serving Seoul, the capital of South Korea. It is also one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.
Transrapid is a German-developed high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Planning for the system started in the late 1960s, with a test facility in Emsland, Germany inaugurated in 1983. In 1991, technical readiness for application was approved by the Deutsche Bundesbahn in cooperation with renowned universities.
Korea Train eXpress (Korean: 한국고속철도), often known as KTX, is South Korea's high-speed rail system, operated by Korail. Construction began on the high-speed line from Seoul to Busan in 1992. KTX services were launched on April 1, 2004.
Maglev is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance.
Seoul Subway Line 7 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway was built from 1990 to 1996 and was completed on August 1, 2000 ; the western section between Sinpung and Onsu was put into service on February 29, 2000. This north-south line does not run through the city centre but links Gangnam directly to the northeastern districts of Seoul. In 2019, Line 7 had an annual ridership of 380 million or 1.04 million passengers per day. Although most trains run between Jangam and Seongnam, some trains short turn at Onsu station and some trains start at Dobongsan station.
The Shanghai maglev train (SMT) or Shanghai Transrapid is a magnetic levitation train (maglev) line that operates in Shanghai, China. The line uses the German Transrapid technology. The Shanghai maglev is the world's first commercial high-speed maglev and has a maximum cruising speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). Prior to May 2021 the cruising speed was 431 km/h (268 mph), at the time this made it the fastest train service in commercial operation.
Seoul Subway Line 9, operated by Seoul Line9 Operation, is a subway line in Seoul, part of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. The line runs east from Gaehwa station or Gimpo International Airport station along the south bank of the Han River towards VHS Medical Center in Gangdong. In 2019, Line 9 had an annual ridership of 225 million or about 616,000 people per day.
AREX is a South Korean airport rail link and commuter rail line that links Incheon International Airport with Seoul Station via Gimpo International Airport.
Yeongjong Island (Korean: 영종도) is an island in Jung District, Incheon, South Korea. It contains Incheon International Airport as well as small villages, farms, and beaches.
UK Ultraspeed was a proposed high-speed magnetic-levitation train line between London and Glasgow, linking 16 stations including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle and six airports. It was rejected in 2007 by the UK government, in favour of conventional high-speed rail. The company behind the proposal ceased efforts to promote it in early 2013.
Seoul, the capital and largest city in South Korea, accounts for only 0.6% of the country's total land area, yet it is home to around 19% of the population. The population density in Seoul demands a great deal of the city's transportation systems, which are regarded by many as among the best and most advanced in the world. Seoul is very well connected by its subway and bus systems, and the city is also very supportive of pedestrian foot travel. In 2006 it won the Sustainable Transport Award.
Incheon Station is the western terminus railway station of the Suin–Bundang and Gyeongin lines of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. The station is in the Bukseong neighborhood of the Jung District, Incheon, South Korea and is approximately 20 kilometers west of Seoul. Established in 1899 under the Korean Empire as Chemulpo Station, Incheon Station is the oldest train station in the Seoul Capital Area. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the station was briefly named Hainchon Station and the original station building was destroyed during the Korean War. Service for the old Suin Line began in 1937 and ended in 1995; the new Suin Line was extended to the station in 2016. Service for the Gyeongin Line began in 1974.
The Gyeongbu high-speed railway, also known as Gyeongbu HSR, is South Korea's first high-speed rail line from Seoul to Busan. KTX high-speed trains operate three sections of the line: on 1 April 2004, the first between a junction near Geumcheon-gu Office station, Seoul and a junction at Daejeonjochajang station north of Daejeon, and a second between a junction at Okcheon station, southeast of Daejeon, and a junction near Jicheon station, north of Daegu entered service; then on 1 November 2010, the third section, between a junction west of Daegu and Busan became operational. The missing gaps across the urban areas of Daejeon and Daegu were in construction for an expected opening in 2014, separate tracks into Seoul Station were also planned. The temporary ends of the three sections were connected to the parallel conventional Gyeongbu Line by tracks that will serve as interconnector branches upon the completion of the entire line. On 1 August 2015, construction on urban areas of Daejeon and Daegu were completed; all the sections of HSR line were connected.
The Honam high-speed railway, also known as Honam HSR, is a high-speed rail between Osong and Mokpo in South Korea. The line is a part of Korail's Korea Train Express (KTX) system, accelerating Seoul–Mokpo and Seoul–Gwangju KTX high-speed services which currently use the existing conventional Honam Line. On April 1, 2015, the line was inaugurated by the South Korean President Park Geun-hye with the attendance of 1200 invited guests and members of the public at Gwangju Songjeong Station in Gwangju, the line's terminus. The line diverges from Osong station on the Gyeongbu high-speed railway, and stops at Gongju, Iksan, Jeongeup Stations. Journey times between Seoul and Gwangju has been cut from 2 h 40 min to just 90 min, making daily commuting possible. The Honam HSR is intended to bring business, and economic opportunities to the province of Jeollanam-do, which has seen slower development than other parts of South Korea. The line has been open to the public since April 2, 2015 for revenue service.
The Wolmi Sea Train (월미바다열차), formerly known as Wolmi Galaxy Rail, is a monorail on the island of Wolmido in Incheon, South Korea. The monorail line has 4 stations and covers 6.1 km connecting Wolmido Island to Incheon Station, the west terminus of Seoul Subway Line 1 and the Suin Line. 1.15 km is double-tracked, but the loop around Wolmido (3.94 km) is single-track. Phase 2, if built, would have added 2 km single track connecting to Dong-Incheon station, also on Metro Line 1, with a potential Phase 3 looping back to Incheon station. The system is the first in the world to use Urbanaut technology, whose selling point is an inverse T-shaped track: large wheels run on the horizontal part of the track, while small wheels press against the rail and keep it in place.
The Changsha Maglev Express, also known as Line S2, is a medium-low speed magnetic levitation, or maglev line in Changsha, China. This is China's second maglev line, after Shanghai Maglev, and the first domestically built maglev line, which uses indigenous technology. The line stretches over 18.55 kilometers (11.53 mi) and runs between Changsha Huanghua International Airport, Langli station and the high-speed railway station Changsha South railway station.
ECOBEE (Korean: 에코비) is a South Korean Maglev train developed by the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials.
The National Science Museum Maglev was a maglev line in Daejeon, South Korea that opened on 21 April 2008 and closed on 31 December 2020. It was a 995 m (3,264 ft) long line that connected the National Science Museum to the Expo Science Park in Yuseong District. It was the first maglev train line to begin commercial operation in the country.
UTM-02 is a South Korean maglev train developed for the continuous research of magnetic levitation trains. The vehicle development was undertaken by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials. It was used on the National Science Museum Maglev line.
