Elevators have been installed at all 338 Seoul subway stations. From every ground-level entrance to the platforms at all subway stations in Seoul, elevators are now available.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government held a ceremony at 2 p.m. on the 29th at Line No. 5 Kkachisan Station to mark the securing of "one route per station throughout the entire system."
One route per station means a route that allows people with transportation challenges to move from the ground to the platform by elevator without assistance.
The city said that with Line No. 5 Kkachisan Station completed on this day, it has secured one route per station at every Seoul subway station.
Since the 2006 revision of the Act on Promotion of the Transportation Convenience of Mobility Disadvantaged Persons, which mandated the installation of elevators in stations, the city has continued to expand elevators within stations. After establishing in 2007 the Comprehensive Plan to Expand Subway Mobility Convenience Facilities (mayoral directive), it set the policy framework by installing elevators that link the ground to platforms at each station, including existing stations.
However, the Seoul subway has aged since opening, and the vast scale of infrastructure, including links with the greater Seoul area subway network, created difficulties during elevator construction. In addition, some buildings faced challenges from the design stage due to various reasons, including civil complaints, encroachment on private land, obstacles requiring removal, and ground construction issues.
In response, the city and Seoul Metro mobilized all their know-how in subway operations and construction to focus on resolving the issues. Among them, Line No. 5 Kkachisan Station was one of the most challenging stations to advance. It faced difficulties through the construction phase, including encroachment on private land, limited space above ground, and the discovery of extremely hard bedrock.
The city and the transit corporation adopted a special construction method that excavates underground along both exterior walls in a "ㄷ" shape to connect them, and they overcame obstacles by using an adjacent elevator as an outlet for removing soil and extremely hard bedrock without closing the entrance. As a result, it became the first case in Korea (first for a subway) to provide a direct connection from the underground first-floor concourse to the underground fifth-floor platform.
The city plans to pursue the goal of "transfers within 10 minutes at all stations." Based on complaints received over the past three years related to mobility convenience facilities, it will prioritize 13 stations. The stations are: ▲ Nowon ▲ Konkuk University ▲ Gyodae Station ▲ Daerim ▲ Digital Media City ▲ Sindang ▲ Bulgwang ▲ Onsu ▲ Seokgye ▲ Gasan Digital Complex ▲ Express Bus Terminal ▲ Sinseol-dong ▲ Isu Station.
For these stations, the city plans to install internal transfer passageways and elevators and provide customized navigation through the Seoul Companion Map. The city analyzed that, as a result, transfer times for people with transportation challenges would decrease by 13.5 minutes (57.9%), from an average of 23.3 minutes to 9.8 minutes, and transfer times for other passengers would drop by 3.5 minutes (44.9%), from an average of 7.8 minutes to 4.3 minutes. For example, if a wheelchair user currently needs up to 35 minutes to transfer at Konkuk University Station, going forward they will be able to reach the platform in the 10-minute range via the transfer passageway.
Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said, "Movement is not a choice but a right that must be guaranteed to everyone," adding, "As the Seoul subway has secured universal accessibility that can be used without discrimination, it has borne fruit in another act of 'walking with the disadvantaged.'"