(19) 90 in 90: You're Waiting for a Train Part 1

Everything in Korea is about efficiency and running on time. From trains to subways to buses, Korea is dependent on getting to places on time and on schedule. Sure trains are a little late every now and then, but its never anything to get worried about. Outliers aside, if you're traveling in Korea, you can expect to get there in a quick and timely manner.

Except for this weekend, when everything efficient and scheduled broke down and the main system used to travel around Korea came to a screeching halt. Delays and cancellations were now in places of reliable schedules. Chaos erupted in train train stations across Korea as time tables were rendered useless, passengers had no idea when their train would arrive and Korail employees were clueless on when the problem would resolve itself.

I was (un)lucky enough to be a part of the carnage and witness the chaos as it unfolded around me. While at the time it seemed like an incredibly unpleasant experience of confusion and uncertainty on where to go and what to do.

The situation began on Saturday when a KTX train collided with a Mungungwha train on the rails. Luckily, no one was seriously injured during the collision. However the accident ended up causing massive delays for the other trains running along the same tracks and caused delays and cancellations across the country.

I first heard about the train crash through mutual friends on facebook while I was with my girlfriend in Seoul. It was during the middle of the afternoon at this time so I really didn't think too much of it. Some people were saying that the delays were only temporary and that the trains would be running by the evening and the situation would be completely fixed by tomorrow morning. I kept this in mind as I continued to enjoy my day, still sticking with my original plan of leaving at a later time in the evening.

When I arrived at the station, I saw something I had never seen before. Lines. Long lines. I wasn't new to the concept of lines at Seoul Station or any train station for that matter, however the lines that were forming when I arrived were beyond ridiculous.From the front of the ticket counter to the very back of the station stood people of all ages. As I continued to walk through the station I noticed that the schedule time table was looking different from what I was used to. Instead of a list of the various trains running in the next couple of hours, warning and cancellation lists quickly streamed across the board. At this time it finally hit me, something was still wrong.

Line at Seoul Station

I made my way to the massive line of the people waiting at the information counter. As the line slowly moved forward I could hear people's voices becoming more frantic and louder. A man in front of me was shouting loudly at the clerk behind the desk. His hands were raised and his voice became increasingly angrier as the clerk kept trying to calm him down.  Old ladies began pushing their way to the front of the line, only to quickly leave again, the look on their face telling me that they did not like the information they were told.

Once I finally got to the front, I handed my ticket to the clerk and asked if there were any delays on my train. She looked at me with a worried face and simply said that my train would come after a "very long time" and that no one at the station had any idea how long it would take for any of the trains to come.

I went next to the announcement board and waited. I wasn't exactly sure what to do or where to go. It didn't help that the messages were rapidly flashing by in Korea, making slow reading impossible. 

After waiting for nearly an hour, I noticed a large group of people running past me and towards the train tracks. I looked up at the board and saw that saw that a train was leaving in just a few minutes. It was a few minutes later than my original train but I figured that if it was going in the same direction, I could at least ask if it was the correct train.

I walked to the platform, still noticing that people were quickly running past and and getting on the train in front of me. I noticed an older man wearing a Korail uniform speaking quickly to people as they got on board. I asked him if my ticket was the matching one that I needed to get on board. He quickly looked at it and gently shoved me towards the train.

"Everyone go," he said to me. "Everyone go on now."

Taking it as a sign, I quickly boarded and noticed how crowded the train was. I have traveled during peak travel times before so a crowded train was usually no big deal to me. However on this train, it seemed much more congested and full than normal. I looked at my ticket, car 8 seat 30 and made my way towards the car.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that there was no car 8, with the train only going up to car 7. I stood dumbfounded that a train was missing an entire car that it needed and stood in place, frozen as the car got progressively more crowded. 

I began to make my way back to the door. I now had my self doubts that I was on the right train and thought about getting off before it left. Making my way through provided to be a challenge worthy of Olympic sport as the car was filled with people sitting or standing in nearly every free space the car had.

By the time I reached the exit, the doors had already closed. The train hadn't started moving yet but I knew at this point it was too late to get off. I was going to be stuck on this train for a very long time.