Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

U Line

Light rail line in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The U Line is a driverless, fully automatic, grade-separated rubber-tyred light metro line in Uijeongbu, Seoul Capital Area, South Korea. The "U" is short for the city Uijeongbu. The line uses Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL) 208 trains built by Siemens Transportation Systems. The system is very similar to the Lille Metro, Toulouse Metro and Rennes Metro in France. The line color is amber.

The line is 11.2 km (7.0 mi) long on elevated track and offers a transfer to Line 1 at Hoeryong Station. Single rides cost 1,550 won. During rush hours trains come every 3 and a half minutes with trains coming every 6 to 10 minutes during all other hours. Trains are in service 19.5 hours a day, from 5 am until 12:30 am. From Balgok Station to Tapseok Station, the U Line will take riders 19 minutes and 54 seconds, versus a car, at 31 minutes 6 seconds, or a public bus, taking 40 minutes and 6 seconds. Two extensions are planned.

After four and a half years of operating at a continual loss, a debt of 240 billion won prompted board members of the Uijeongbu Light Rail Transit Company to file for bankruptcy in late 2016. If the Seoul Central District Court agrees to the filing then operation reverts to the city government. On 5 January 2017, Uijeongbu Mayor Ahn Byung-yong promised the line would continue operation.

01History

  • 1995 December, Initial planning
  • 2004 August, GS Construction Consortium is picked
  • 2005 October, Operating company is established
  • 2007 July, Construction groundbreaking ceremony
  • 2007 August, Full construction begins
  • 2011 Summer, All track has been laid
  • 2011 Fall, Signal work completion
  • 2012 February to June- Testing of system
  • 2012 June 29-30, Free rides prior to official opening
  • 2012 July 1, Revenue service begins
  • 2014 December 6, Joins metropolitan unity fare allowing transfers to other lines and buses. Fares start from 1,350, with a flat 300 won extra charge if transferring from Line 1.
VAL network map
VAL network map

02Fares

The U Line is physically connected to the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system and allows payment via the T-money smart card. It allows transfer to other lines and buses since 6 December 2014. Discounts are available for youth and free rides exist for those over 65 years of age.

03Rolling stock

The line uses VAL 208 rolling stock also used on the metros in Lille, Toulouse, Rennes (Line A only), and Turin, as well as the CDGVAL at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. However, unlike those cities, the trains have air conditioning to suit the more humid climate of South Korea.

04Stations

There is no station numbered U116.

All stations are in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do.

Station
number
Station name Transfer Station
distance
Total
distance
Romanized Hangul in km
U110 Balgok 발곡 --- 0.0
U111 Hoeryong 회룡 0.8 0.8
U112 Beomgol 범골 0.6 1.4
U113 LRT Uijeongbu 경전철의정부 1.0 2.4
U114 Uijeongbu City Hall 의정부시청 0.9 3.3
U115 Heungseon 흥선 0.6 3.9
U117 Uijeongbujungang 의정부중앙 1.1 5.0
U118 Dongo 동오 0.7 5.7
U119 Saemal 새말 0.8 6.5
U120 Gyeonggi Provincial Government Northern Office 경기도청북부청사 0.6 7.2
U121 Hyoja 효자 0.6 7.8
U122 Gonje 곤제 0.8 8.6
U123 Eoryong
(Yonghyeon Industrial Complex)
어룡
(용현산업단지)
0.9 9.5
U124 Songsan 송산 0.6 10.1
U125 Tapseok 탑석 (planned) 0.5 10.6
Watch videos about U LineExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article U Line, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.