Seoul’s Wirye tramway starts trials

The South Korean capital is served by 23 metro lines with 768 stations, but inevitably there are some gaps in the network that need to be filled by more cost-effective transit links. One of these is set to re-introduce trams to the city for the first time since 1968. The 5.44km standard gauge Wirye Line is a street-based tram line providing links between a New Town residential area and three metro stations on lines 5 and 8. The SKW 261.4bn (USD 194.4M) project has been under construction since 2022 and has progressed to the stage where the first test runs are taking place this month, though the ambition of carrying passengers this autumn is unlikely to be realised, with early 2026 more realistic. However a major hurdle has been cleared by passing a safety review from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. 

 

Woojin Industrial Systems/Hyundai Rotem is delivering 10 five section low-floor articulated trams, that will operate on battery power recharged from an on-board fuel cell. They feature a radar-based collision avoidance system, perhaps necessary because Seoul’s motorists are unused to interacting with tram lines. These trams are now in test running along the line that links Macheon station on metro line 5 with Bokjeong station on metro line 8 via the Songpa entertainment district in Wirye New Town. A branch serves Namwirye station also on line 5. The success of the Wirye line will point the way to other new suburban tramway projects.