--- title: "Railways in South Korea" title_ko: "대한민국의 철도" description: "An overview of South Korea's intercity and regional passenger railway, including KTX, General Trains, timetable Lines, stations and current scheduled services." canonical_path: "/transport/rail/" parent_path: "/transport/" document_type: "canonical-editorial-overview" language: "en" publication_status: "draft" generated: false spatial_coverage: name: "South Korea" country_code: "KR" current_timetable_effective_date: "2026-09-01" last_reviewed: "2026-09-05" --- # Railways in South Korea South Korea's passenger railway connects the Capital Area with major cities and regional centers across the country. High-speed KTX services link the largest urban areas and important regional destinations, while conventional General Trains add stopping patterns and connections that reach more communities. Together they form the core of intercity and regional passenger rail. This overview explains how the current national timetable is organized, the geographical directions it serves, and how KTX and General Trains complement one another. The broader [Transportation in South Korea](/transport/) overview places railway travel alongside urban rail, buses, aviation, ferries and local transport. More detailed information is available through the [KTX](/transport/rail/ktx/) and [General Trains](/transport/rail/general/) overviews. Several of the best-known corridors extend south from the Capital Area toward Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and the Jeolla region. Other services run east toward Gangneung and Pohang or through the central interior toward cities such as Andong. The network is not entirely Seoul-centered: regional Railway Lines also connect cities along the south and east coasts. This combination of long national corridors and regional links explains why high-speed and conventional trains need to be read together. ## Railway at a glance | Topic | Current scope | | --- | --- | | Current timetable | Effective September 1, 2026 | | Scheduled train numbers | 977 | | KTX / General Trains | 621 / 356 | | Railway Lines in the current timetable | 9 KTX Lines and 15 General Train Lines | | Stations in the current timetable | 256 | These are timetable counts. The 977 entries are distinct scheduled train numbers in the current timetable, not a count of physical trainsets. The 24 Lines follow the organization of the official passenger timetable. They should not be read as a complete count of every physical railway or track in South Korea. ## KTX and General Trains KTX is the current high-speed timetable family. Its services emphasize fast travel between major cities, while different stopping patterns extend high-speed connections to regional destinations on several corridors. The current timetable contains 621 KTX train numbers across nine KTX Lines. General Trains (`일반열차`) provide conventional intercity and regional services. Representative service names are ITX-Maum (`ITX-마음`), ITX-Saemaeul (`ITX-새마을`), Saemaeul-ho (`새마을호`), Mugunghwa-ho (`무궁화호`) and Nuriro (`누리로`). Their schedules add intermediate stops, regional links and service patterns that are not provided by KTX alone. The current timetable contains 356 General Train numbers across fifteen General Train Lines. Both families are needed to understand the national passenger railway. A city may be served by both KTX and General Trains, sometimes through Lines with the same corridor name but different schedules. The [KTX overview](/transport/rail/ktx/) explains the high-speed network, while the [General Trains overview](/transport/rail/general/) covers conventional and regional services. In the timetable effective September 1, 2026, high-speed services using Suseo are presented within the KTX timetable. Earlier records retain the SRT name for services operated before that date. ## Major cities and railway corridors The Lines used in the current timetable make the geography of the national railway network easier to understand. The examples below are representative rather than exhaustive: many cities appear in more than one Line, and individual trains can use different stopping patterns. | City or destination | Principal station | Representative Railway Line or Lines | Network context | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Busan | Busan Station | KTX Gyeongbu Line (`KTX 경부선`); General Train Gyeongbu Line (`일반열차 경부선`) | A principal southeastern destination served by both high-speed and conventional trains. | | Daejeon | Daejeon Station | KTX Gyeongbu Line (`KTX 경부선`); General Train Gyeongbu Line (`일반열차 경부선`) | A central-city hub on the main corridor between the Capital Area and the southeast. | | Daegu | Dongdaegu Station | KTX Gyeongbu Line (`KTX 경부선`); General Train Gyeongbu Line (`일반열차 경부선`) | Dongdaegu is the principal station for many intercity services serving Daegu and the surrounding region. | | Gwangju | Gwangjusongjeong Station | KTX Honam Line (`KTX 호남선`); General Train Honam Line (`일반열차 호남선`) | Gwangjusongjeong represents Gwangju on the main southwest Lines. | | Jeonju | Jeonju Station | KTX Jeolla Line (`KTX 전라선`); General Train Jeolla Line (`일반열차 전라선`) | A major Jeolla-region destination served by high-speed and conventional patterns. | | Gangneung | Gangneung Station | KTX Gangneung Line (`KTX 강릉선`); KTX Donghae Line (Bujeon–Gangneung) (`KTX 동해선(부전-강릉)`) | An east-coast destination reached through KTX Lines approaching from different national directions. | | Pohang | Pohang Station | KTX Donghae Line (Seoul–Pohang) (`KTX 동해선(서울~포항)`); General Train Donghae Line (`일반열차 동해선`) | An east-coast industrial city with both high-speed and conventional regional connections. | | Andong | Andong Station | KTX Jungang Line (`KTX 중앙선`); General Train Jungang Line (`일반열차 중앙선`) | An inland regional destination showing the role of the central corridor beyond the largest cities. | The pairings also show how the KTX and General Train service families can use the same corridor name. Gyeongbu and Honam each have separate KTX and General Train Lines, while the two KTX Donghae Lines distinguish services reaching the east coast from different directions. The table names only the clearest Line or Lines for each destination; it does not imply that every train calling at the station follows the same route or stopping pattern. Busan provides the clearest illustration of service scale. The current timetable provides about 60 direct KTX services a day on average from Seoul Station to Busan Station. The fastest scheduled services take about two hours and twenty minutes. General Trains add different stopping patterns along the Gyeongbu corridor, so the same two cities can be understood through more than one type of service. Intercity trains serving different parts of the country do not all use the same Capital Area station. Seoul Station is important for many north–south and eastbound services, Yongsan Station is prominent for southwest and Jeolla services, Cheongnyangni Station serves important central and eastern directions, and Suseo Station is used by high-speed services in the current KTX timetable. The exact departure station therefore matters when describing a journey “from Seoul.” These examples show only part of the network. The [KTX overview](/transport/rail/ktx/) describes all nine current KTX timetable Lines, while the [General Trains overview](/transport/rail/general/) explains the fifteen timetable Lines used by conventional and regional services. ## Intercity railway and urban rail KTX and General Trains primarily serve intercity and regional journeys. Subway, metropolitan rail and light rail primarily serve travel within cities and commuter regions. The systems can meet at the same transport hub, but their services, timetables and roles are different. Seoul Station is both a major intercity railway station and a connection point for metropolitan rail. A passenger may arrive by subway and continue by KTX, yet the two trains remain different kinds of service. Similar transfers occur at other major hubs where intercity trains connect with urban rail and local transport. ## The current timetable The current KTX and General Train timetable took effect on September 1, 2026. That date begins a timetable period; it does not describe only the trains operating on September 1. Some services run every day, while others operate on selected weekdays. Detailed train information can show a train's operating days, origin, destination, stops, and published departure and arrival times. The Holy Grail preserves the official train numbers and displayed timetable times so that the same service can be recognized across different views of the network. The published timetable is a standard schedule. Temporary trains, service suspensions, engineering work and other date-specific changes may alter actual operation. Information for a particular travel date should therefore be checked against current operator notices as well as the standard timetable. ## Railway Lines in the current timetable The current passenger timetable is organized into nine KTX Lines and fifteen General Train Lines. The Holy Grail follows these Lines when organizing detailed railway information. A corridor name can appear in both families. For example, the KTX Gyeongbu Line and General Train Gyeongbu Line are different public Lines: their trains, stops and schedules differ even though they share a geographical corridor. Qualifiers also matter because the two KTX Donghae Lines represent the separate Seoul–Pohang and Bujeon–Gangneung timetable contexts. These Lines follow the structure of the official passenger timetable. The complete Line lists and their service patterns belong in the KTX and General Train overviews. ## Stations and transport hubs The current timetable includes 256 stations. Some are served by both KTX and General Trains, while others appear only in particular regional or stopping patterns. A station's services are best understood by looking at the Lines and trains that call there. Major stations also connect railway passengers with urban rail, local and long-distance buses, airports and taxis. Seoul Station combines intercity trains with metropolitan connections, while hubs such as Daejeon, Dongdaegu, Busan and Gwangjusongjeong bring several railway services together. These connections allow national rail journeys to continue through local transport at either end. Within the Capital Area, Seoul Station, Yongsan Station, Cheongnyangni Station and Suseo Station serve different mixes of directions and services. Detailed station information can bring those related railway services and local connections together without treating every hub as interchangeable. ## How The Holy Grail presents railway information This railway overview leads to the KTX and General Trains overviews, which explain the complete set of Lines in each timetable family. Detailed railway information is organized around Lines, stations and scheduled services, allowing readers to move from the national network to a particular corridor, place or train. ## Explore Railway data - [KTX](/transport/rail/ktx/) — An overview of the current KTX timetable, its services, major destinations and nine KTX Lines. - [General Trains](/transport/rail/general/) — An overview of the General Train timetable, service types, regional connections and fifteen General Train Lines. ## Sources ### Current timetables - **Korea Railroad Corporation — KTX Timetable (`KTX 시간표(2026. 9. 1. 기준)`), effective September 1, 2026** Provides the current KTX Line structure, operating patterns, stops and published times. [Official source](https://www.korail.com/ticket/reserve/train-timeTable) - **Korea Railroad Corporation — General Train Timetable (`일반열차 시간표(2026. 9. 1. 기준)`), effective September 1, 2026** Provides the current General Train service names, Line structure, operating patterns, stops and published times. [Official source](https://www.korail.com/ticket/reserve/train-timeTable) - **SR — Train Fares and Timetables (`열차운임 및 시간표`), current timetable effective September 1, 2026** Confirms the current high-speed timetable published for September 1, 2026. [Official source](https://etk.srail.kr/cms/archive.do?pageId=TK0402050000) ### High-speed service transition - **SR — Notice on SRT App and Website Operation Following High-Speed Rail Integration (`고속철도 통합에 따른 SRT앱·홈페이지 운영 알림`), August 21, 2026** Explains how Suseo high-speed services are presented from September 1, 2026, while earlier services retain their historical SRT context. [Official source](https://www.srail.or.kr/cms/article/view.do?pageId=TK0502000000&postNo=922) ### Railway stations - **Korea Railroad Corporation — Station Location Information (`한국철도공사_역 위치 정보`), reference date April 1, 2024** Provides official location information for passenger railway stations. [Official source](https://www.data.go.kr/data/15127532/fileData.do) - **Korea National Railway / KRIC — Railroad Station Information (`국가철도공단_철도역 정보`), reference date July 11, 2025** Provides official station names, addresses, related-line information and other station context. [Official source](https://www.data.go.kr/data/15067652/fileData.do) --- theholygrail.kr was created to help international visitors to South Korea obtain accurate information through AI. For inquiries, please email 940@lencten.kr.