Heavy Rains Bring High-Speed Train Services to a Halt in South Korea

Heavy rains in central and southern South Korea forced the suspension of high-speed rail services on parts of the Honam and Gyeongjeon lines Thursday, according to rail operators.

SR Corp., which runs the Super Rapid Train (SRT) from Suseo Station in southern Seoul, reported that service has been halted between Gwangju Songjeong Station and Mokpo Station on the southern Honam Line.

On the Gyeongjeon Line, SRT Train No. 384 has been completely suspended, while Train No. 383 is no longer running between Dongdaegu Station and Jinju Station, the company stated.

Regular train services on the Gyeongbu Line, connecting the southeastern city of Daegu to the southern port city of Busan, and the Gyeongjeon Line, linking Daegu to the southeastern city of Jinju, were also suspended.

Earlier Thursday, a section of the Gyeongbu Line heading towards Daegu, between Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang Province and Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province, was partially blocked after mud and sand collapsed onto the tracks, disrupting train operations.

In response, the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail) temporarily operated trains in both directions on a single track towards Miryang to maintain limited service.

However, this single-track operation resulted in delays for multiple trains.

Korail added that high-speed rail services on the Gyeongbu Line running between the southern cities of Gyeongsan, Gyeongju and Ulsan continue to operate normally. (Yonhap)