KTX in South Korea

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KTX is South Korea's high-speed passenger train service. Its services connect the Capital Area with major cities and selected regional destinations across the country, from Busan and the southwest to the east coast and central interior. The network is organized around several Capital Area terminals rather than a single station, so Seoul Station (서울역), Yongsan Station (용산역), Cheongnyangni Station (청량리역) and Suseo Station (수서역) lead into different geographical patterns.

This overview describes the standard KTX timetable effective September 1, 2026, the KTX service types used in that timetable, and all nine current KTX Lines. The parent Railways in South Korea overview places KTX alongside General Trains and the wider intercity and regional passenger railway.

KTX at a glance

Topic	Current scope
Current timetable	Effective September 1, 2026
Scheduled KTX train numbers	621
KTX Lines	9
Stations in the current KTX timetable	88
Current KTX service names	KTX, KTX-Sancheon, KTX-Eum and KTX-Chungyong

Counts refer to scheduled train numbers in the current timetable, not physical trainsets.

Since September 1, 2026, high-speed services using Suseo Station (수서역) have been listed in the KTX timetable; earlier records retain the SRT name.

KTX service types in the current timetable

Four service names appear among the 621 scheduled KTX train numbers. The names identify the train services published in the timetable; a service name alone does not determine every stop or destination.

KTX service name	Korean name	Scheduled train numbers
KTX-Sancheon	`KTX-산천`	312
KTX	`KTX`	197
KTX-Eum	`KTX-이음`	102
KTX-Chungyong	`KTX-청룡`	10

KTX and KTX-Sancheon account for most scheduled train numbers and appear on the principal north–south corridors. KTX-Eum is especially visible on the Gangneung, Jungang and Jungbunaeryuk Lines, which extend high-speed service eastward and through the central interior. KTX-Chungyong is a smaller current timetable group. These counts describe the published service identities, while individual trains still differ by Line, terminal, operating days and calling pattern.

Major KTX connections

From Seoul Station (서울역) to Busan Station (부산역), the KTX Gyeongbu Line provides about 60 direct services a day on average, with the fastest scheduled journey taking about two hours and twenty minutes.

From Yongsan Station (용산역) to Gwangjusongjeong Station (광주송정역), the KTX Honam Line provides about 28 direct services a day on average; the fastest published journey takes about one hour and thirty-six minutes.

From Cheongnyangni Station (청량리역) to Gangneung Station (강릉역), the KTX Gangneung Line provides about 20 direct services a day on average, with a fastest published journey of about one hour and twenty-seven minutes. These examples show why a journey described as being “from Seoul” should identify the actual station.

The stations below are listed in the down direction shown in the official timetable. The station list for each Line includes every station served by at least one scheduled train in the current timetable. Individual trains may stop at only a subset of these stations. In this context, “down direction” follows the timetable’s own directional convention and does not necessarily mean north to south.

The nine KTX Lines

These Lines follow the organization of the official passenger timetable. They are not intended as a complete catalogue of every physical railway track in South Korea.

KTX Gyeongbu Line (`KTX 경부선`)

View KTX Gyeongbu Line details and timetables

The KTX Gyeongbu Line connects the Capital Area with Busan Station (부산역) along South Korea’s principal southeastern high-speed corridor. Different trains use different terminals and stopping patterns within the Line.