Over half of rail service disruptions caused by vehicle breakdowns, lawmaker says

Over the past five and a half years, 100 people have died in rail accidents in South Korea, and derailments have occurred roughly once a month, according to data released Friday. More than half of the 559 service disruptions recorded during the same period were caused by vehicle breakdowns.

Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Land and Transport Committee representing Seoul's Yangcheon-gap district, analyzed data submitted by Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) and found that a total of 866 rail incidents — including accidents, near-accidents and service disruptions — were recorded from 2021 through June this year. Of those, 241 were classified as rail accidents, 66 as near-accidents and 559 as service disruptions, with disruptions accounting for 64.5 percent of the total.

Rail accidents during the period caused 175 casualties — 100 deaths and 75 injuries. The toll was highest in 2022, when 59 people were killed or injured. Property damage totaled 10.95 billion won ($7.6 million), with 2023 recording the highest annual figure at 3.59 billion won. The actual scale of damage may be larger, as the figures exclude fare refunds and labor costs and reflect only cases in which investigations have been completed.

By accident type, collisions with people on or near the tracks were the most common at 89 cases, followed by derailments at 60, level-crossing accidents at 38, employee safety incidents at 13, employee traffic accidents at 10 and train collisions at 9.

By route, accidents and disruptions were concentrated along the Gyeongbu corridor. The Gyeongbu Line recorded the most at 232 cases, followed by the Gyeongbu High-Speed Line at 110, the Honam Line at 62, the Jungang Line at 52 and the Gyeongwon Line at 44. Combined, the two lines accounted for 342 cases, or 39.5 percent of the total.

Service disruptions — which cause trains to stop or run late, directly inconveniencing passengers — were heavily concentrated in vehicle breakdowns. Of the 559 disruptions recorded over the past five and a half years, 300, or 53.7 percent, stemmed from vehicle breakdowns. Signal failures accounted for 64 cases, power supply failures for 25 and non-stop pass-throughs for 19.

Vehicle breakdowns showed no clear downward trend, exceeding 50 cases annually for five consecutive years: 62 in 2021, 56 in 2022, 57 in 2023, 50 in 2024 and 52 in 2025. Breakdowns are considered the most tangible source of disruption for passengers, as they lead to mid-route stops, extended waits, delays to following trains and forced transfers.

Breaking down the 300 vehicle breakdowns by train type, the KTX-1 — introduced when high-speed rail launched in 2004 — recorded the most at 70 cases, followed by diesel locomotives at 55, electric locomotives at 41, electric multiple units at 39, KTX-Sancheon at 24, ITX-Maeum at 18, KTX-Wongang at 13 and KTX-Eum at 12. High-speed train breakdowns totaled 120 cases, accounting for 40 percent of all vehicle breakdowns.

KTX stops and delays have continued into this year. Among near-accidents — incidents that risked escalating into full accidents — violations of stop signals were the most frequent. Nine such cases were recorded in the first half of this year alone, already surpassing the eight cases logged for all of last year.

"The fact that vehicle breakdowns account for more than half of all service disruptions is a warning signal not just about delays but about the overall state of rail safety management," Hwang said. He called on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korail to fully trace breakdown histories by train type and component, and to establish new management standards for aging vehicles and repeatedly failing parts.