A Line No. 2 subway station. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Gangnam Station in southern Seoul was the busiest subway station in the country’s capital last year, data showed Tuesday.
In 2019, 141,597 people used the Line No. 2 station each day on average, which also connects to the Sinbundang Line that terminates in Gyeonggi Province, according to the data by subway operator Seoul Metro.
Other Line No. 2 stations also topped the list of Seoul’s busiest subway stations, with 129,199 people using Hongik University Station in western Seoul and 118,244 using Jamsil Station in southeastern Seoul.
In contrast, the least busy station was Dunchon Oryun Station on Line No. 9, which 1,529 people used. Dorimcheon Station (Line No. 2) and Sindap Station (Line No. 2) came next with 1,979 and 2,048 passengers, respectively.
By subway line, Line No. 2 was by far the busiest with 2.22 million people, or 29.8 percent of total subway passengers, using it on an average day.
Line No. 7 came next with average daily passengers totaling 1.04 million, according to the data.
The annual data, meanwhile, showed an increase in the number of passengers who use the subway for free. The subway operator attributed the on-year rise to the country’s aging population.
The number of passengers who used Lines No. 1 to 8 for free totaled 274 million last year, accounting for 15.5 percent of all passengers using the lines. This amounts to 370.9 billion won (US$315.3 million) worth of fares.
Of the total, 82.2 percent were those aged over 65.
The subway operator provides free rides to the disabled, veterans and those aged over 65.
(Yonhap)
