Seoul Metro held a public review of a full-scale mock-up for new Line 1 trains on December 26-27 at a railcar manufacturer in Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong Province, the company announced Tuesday.
The transit operator revealed a single-car prototype including the driver's cabin. Forty employees and 30 citizens inspected 139 types of equipment, including passenger seats, doors, handrails, information displays, and wireless chargers.
The new design features enhanced exhaust fan performance in passenger compartments, reducing smoke evacuation time from 270 seconds to 180 seconds during fires. Other improvements focus on safety and evacuation efficiency.
Seoul Metro plans to incorporate feedback from the review into the final design as it replaces aging trains on Line 1.
"Line 1 marks the beginning of Seoul's subway system, so it's important that the trains meet citizens' expectations," said Park Byung-seop, head of Seoul Metro's rolling stock division. "We will faithfully reflect the opinions from this review to create a safe and comfortable riding environment."