Bullet Train Competition

[Anchor Lead]

Bullet train service on the Suseo high-speed railway SRT departing from the Gangnam area in Seoul opens in just a month. The competition between the KTX and SRT services is expected to be fierce, as the new bullet train service is cheaper and faster.

[Pkg]

A high-speed SRT train is being tested on an underground platform. The SRT service, which will operate between Suseo Station in Seoul's Gangnam area and Busan and Mokpo, is to begin in early December.

[Soundbite] Woo Hee-moon(Korea Rail Network Authority) : "Many passengers in the Gangnam area and the southeast regions of the Seoul metropolitan area will have better access to high-speed train services."

Running at their maximum speed of 300km an hour, the SRT trains can reach Dongtan Station in just 14 minutes and Busan in two hours and 21 minutes. Its overall operation time is predicted to be eight minutes shorter on the Gyeongbu Line and seven minutes shorter on the Honam Line compared to the KTX service. What's more, SRT fares are 10 percent lower on average than KTX fares. The new service also features better facilities. Another characteristic of the SRT service is that 86 percent of the newly built 61km section between Suseo and Pyeongtaek is a tunnel. Meanwhile, the KTX bullet train service is bracing for the competition by cutting its fares ahead of the launch of the new high-speed train service.