Busan Metro

Busan Metro
Overview
Owner	City of Busan
Locale	Busan
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	5
Number of stations	129 (1 not open)
Operation
Began operation	19 July 1985
Operator(s)	Busan Transportation Corporation B&G Metro
Technical
System length	131.9 kilometres (82.0 mi)
System map

Busan Metro
Hangul	부산 도시철도
Hanja	釜山 都市铁道
Revised Romanization	busan dosicheoldo
McCune–Reischauer	pusan tosich'ŏlto

The Busan Subway (officially known as Busan Metro), operated by the Busan Transportation Corporation is the subway system of Busan, South Korea. The subway network first opened in 1985 with seventeen stations. Now, it consists of 4 lines, 102 operating stations, and 106.8 kilometres (66.4 mi) of tracks.

All directional signs on the Busan Subway are written in both Korean and English, and the voice announcement in the trains indicating the upcoming station, possible line transfer and exiting side are all spoken in Korean, followed by English. Announcements at stations for arriving trains are in Korean, followed by English, then Japanese and Mandarin.

Ride Fares and Subway Pass

Busan Subway ticket

A single ride fare (as of May 2008) is 1100 won for a destination within less than 10 km (6.2 mi) and 1300 won for any other destinations. Tickets are sold at "Ticket Vending Machines". Usually one machine per set will accept 1000 won notes while the others only take coins. Tickets should be kept since they are required to leave the station once reaching destination, and getting caught "jumping the gate" will result in a hefty fine.

The use of a subway pass, either a Hanaro Card (하나로카드) or a Digital Busan Card (디지털부산카드) will offer a fare discount of 10% to adults and 20% to youth of 13-18 of age. Both the Hanaro and the Digital Busan cards, are available in either card format or a more compact, yet slightly more expensive cell phone accessory format. The passes are equipped with a microchip and are scanned by laying them against sensor plates at the entrance and exit of stations. This makes them more efficient than magnetic stripe cards since they can be detected through a wallet or purse. Hanaro Cards are for sale at all stations for 2000 won. All type of passes can have credit added to them in any station at the "Automatic Charge Machine" (교통카드 자동 보충기); the instructions are available in both English and Korean. The passes can also be used to pay for bus fares and for purchases on specially equipped vending machines throughout the city.

Lines

Line Name English	Line Name Hangul	Starting Station	Ending Station	Stations	Total Length
Template:BSM line links	1호선	Sinpyeong	Nopo	34	32.5 km
Template:BSM line links	2호선	Jangsan	Yangsan	42	45.2 km
Template:BSM line links	3호선	Suyeong	Daejeo	17	18.3 km
Template:BSM line links	4호선	Minam	Anpyeong	14	10.8 km
Template:BSM line links	부산-김해경전철	Sasang	Kaya University	21	23.4 km

Line 1

Main article: Busan Subway Line 1

Line 1 (1호선) is the north-south route. It is 32.5 km (20.2 mi) long with 34 stations. The line uses trains that have eight cars each.

Plans for this line were made in 1979. Two years later, in 1981, construction began on the first phase, between Nopo-Dong (now Nopo) and Beomnaegol, which was finished in July 1985. This stretch was 16.2 km (10.1 mi) long. Further extensions continued southward, with a 5.4 km (3.4 mi) extension from Beomnaegol to Jungang-dong (now Jungang) opened in May 1987, a 4.5 km (2.8 mi) extension to Seodaeshin-dong (now Seodaeshin) in February 1990, and a 6.4 km (4.0 mi) extension to Shinpyeong in June 1994. The total construction cost was 975.1 billion won. The extension of the line further into Saha-gu is currently under construction and is expected to be finished in late 2013 or in 2014.

Line 2

Main article: Busan Subway Line 2

Line 2 (2호선) crosses Busan from east to west, running along the shores of Haeundae and Gwanganli, and then north toward Yangsan. It has 43 stations, with 1 not operating. The line uses trains that have six cars each.

Although construction on the first section began in 1991, a 22.4 km (13.9 mi) route, with 21 stations between Hopo and Seomyeon; it was not opened until June 30, 1999. With Phase 2, the line was extended 8.7 km (5.4 mi) southeast from Seomyeon to Geumnyeonsan on August 8, 2001. It was extended 0.9 km (0.56 mi) north to Gwangan on January 16, 2002, and finally, on August 29, 2002, it was extended 8 km (5.0 mi) east to Jangsan.

Phase 3, started in 1998, extends Line 2 north from Hopo more into the city of Yangsan. The phase was originally supposed to add another 11.3 km (7.0 mi) to the line. Originally, phase 3 planned of seven stations: Currently, only three of the seven are in operation. Jeungsan Station, which will be the fourth station to open in phase 3, is planned to open in 2014. The city of Yangsan has currently gave up on finishing the extension (building the last three stations). A line that connects Nopo of Line 1 to Yangsan of Line 2 and finishes up further in Yangsan is planned; it will be built either as a light rail line or an extension of Line 1.

The extension of Line 2 towards Gijang-gun, Busan, is planned. If this extension opens, then 4 new stations will be added to Line 2.

Line 3

Main article: Busan Subway Line 3

Line 3 (3호선) construction began in November 1997. Opening was delayed many times, but the Line 3 finally started service on November 28, 2005, with an 18.3 km (11.4 mi) long line along 17 stations. Line 3 uses 4-car trains. The first phase's estimated construction cost was 1,688.6 billion won, with the second phase split off into Line 4.

Following the "Daegu Subway Fire" in 2003, it was decided during construction to install screen doors to all station platforms on Line 3. This is one of the few lines in Korea and in the world that have screen doors installed in every station. Line 3 significantly improved the subway transportation system by connecting the Suyeong and Yeonsan-dong region, as well as the Yeonsan-dong and Deokcheon region.

Line 4

Main article: Busan Subway Line 4

Line 4, also called the 'Bansong Line', is a light rail transit system that serves north-central and northeastern Busan. The line was originally planned as an extension of Line 3. Using automated guideway transit technology and extending from Minam to Anpyeong, Line 4 includes 14 stations and 12.7 km (7.9 mi) of tracks. Originally scheduled to open in 2008, the line opened on March 30, 2011. Of the 14 stations, 8 are underground, 1 is ground level, and 5 are above-ground. Each train has 6 cars, each car quite shorter than the cars of other lines in the subway system.

Busan-Gimhae LRT (BGL)

Main article: Busan-Gimhae Light Rail Transit

The Busan-Gimhae Light Rail Transit is a light rail transit system that connects the city of Busan to the neighboring city of Gimhae. The line opened on 9 September 2011. It is operated by B&G Metro. The line has 21 stations, including two stations, Daejeo and Sasang, where one can transfer to Line 3 and Line 2 respectively. The line serves as inner-city transit for both Busan and Gimhae, an inter-city network linking Gimhae and Busan, and a new way to get to Gimhae International Airport.

All of the 21 stations are above-ground, and each train has 2 cars.

Expansions and Plans

• A southern extension of Line 1 is currently being built, planned to open in late 2013 or in 2014.
• There is an upgrade construction on the Donghae Nambu Line, which includes having commuter trains linking Busan and Ulsan is planned to be finished in 2015.
• A line that connects Sasang Station (Line 2,Busan-Gimhae LRT, and the upgraded Gyeongjeon Line) to Gadeok Island is planned, with the first phase from Sasang Station to Hadan Station (Line 1) planned to be finished in 2016.
• An upgrade to part of the Gyeongjeon Line, including operating a commuter train system linking Busan and Changwon is planned to be finished in 2018.
• The are also other expansions and plans.

Lost and Found

The Lost and Found office is located on the Line 1 platform in Seomyeon Station. It is open during daytime on weekdays and in morning on Saturdays. Unclaimed items are kept for 7 days before being handed to the police.

DMB Service

On May 25, 2006, TU Media started to serve the entire subway network with S-DMB service. The current S-DMB transmission allow subscriber to receive television and radio reception on hand-held device such as cell-phone. With an investment of 11 billion won TU Media installed 530 signal emitters to provide seamless reception in the entire underground system.

See also

• Rapid transit in South Korea

References

• 부산교통공사 지하철 건설계획, Busan Transportation Corporation: Subway Construction Project (in Korean)

External links

• Busan Transportation Corporation homepage Template:En icon
• M&G Metro Corporation homepage Template:En icon
• [1] City of Busan
• [2] homepage