Kinds of HIGH SPEED TRAIN
There are two kinds of high speed train in KOREA; KTX (Korea Train Express) and SRT (Super Rapid Train).
Tell the conclusion, both trains are almost same.
Legally, two different companies operate each train system. But, no special difference because KORAIL company became major shareholder of SRT operation company. (KORAIL, which was the sole company who operates the whole train system across SOUTH KOREA, won a vicotry against government….though the government wanted to establish the independent secondary trailway company.)
We call high speeed train started at SEOUL STATION as KTX.
Whereas SRT starts from SUSEO STATION only, which is at south-east corner of SEOUL.
For that reason, let’s call both trains as HIGH SPEED TRAIN in this article.
STANDRD vs PREMIUM SEAT
As of 1 Aug 2019, STANDARD SEAT price between SEOUL and BUSAN (one way) is KRW59,800 and the price of PREMIUM SEAT is KRW83,700.
Quality wise, there is no much difference except bigger space between front seat and my seat (i.e., wider knee space).
Coverage of HIGH SPEED TRAIN
For high speed train, the railroad should be newly built and it requires the different electronical system. Sound expensive?…yes, therefore, KORAIL company built the rail roads and runs HIGH SPEED TRAIN only on ‘cost collectible’ routes, which show the enough number of passengers such as SEOUL – BUSAN.
Speed of HIGH SPEED TRAIN
By machine design, it can run 300KM per hour. But, normally, it runs 270-280KM per hour.
If we drive the car from SEOUL to BUSAN, the road distance is 400KM.
Therefore, if we assume the HIGH SPEED TRAIN runs the same distance, it should arrive at BUSAN in 1 hour 30 minutes. But, as of today, the shortest journey between SEOUL and BUSAN is 2h15m.
Why? The train need to stop at several stations (normally, 5-6 stops) such as DAEGU, DAEJEON.