Seoul Subway Line 2 (), also known as the Circle Line, is a circular line of the

Seoul Metropolitan Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway () is a urban rail transit, metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, Medium-capacity rail transport system, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. T ...

. The line running clockwise is called the "inner circle line" and the counter-clockwise line is called the "outer circle line". This is Seoul's most heavily used line, and consists of the main loop (), the Seongsu Branch () and the Sinjeong Branch () for a total line length of . The Line 2 loop is the third longest subway loop in the world after Moscow Metro

Bolshaya Koltsevaya line The Bolshaya Koltsevaya line () (English: Big Circle Line) (Line 11; Teal Line) is a rapid transit line of the Moscow Metro system in Moscow, Russia. It is the third circle line on the system, running outside of the existing circle Koltsevaya line ...

and Beijing Subway Line 10. In 2019, Line 2 had an annual ridership of 812 million passengers or 2.2 million passengers per day. Headways on the line vary from 2 minutes 18 seconds on peak periods and 5–6 minutes off-peak periods. The line connects the city centre to

Gangnam Gangnam (), sometimes referred to as the Greater Gangnam Area, is a geographic and cultural region in Seoul. While Gangnam can refer to the entire region of Seoul south of the Han River, the region is generally defined as consisting of the city ...

Teheran Valley Teheran-ro (; named for Tehran, Iran) is a street in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea. It runs from Gangnam Station through Yeoksam-dong and into Samseong-dong. It is colloquially known as "Teheran Valley" (after Silicon Valley) due ...

and the

COEX COEX () is a convention and exhibition center located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea. COEX is a portmanteau of 'COvention' and 'EXhibition'. COEX is serviced by Samseong station on line 2 and Bongeunsa station on ...

KWTC World Trade Center Seoul (WTC Seoul; ) is a building complex centered on the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center (Coex) on Teheranno in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu district of Seoul. It is operated by Korea International Trade Association. Notabl ...

complex.

History

In 1972, then-

Mayor of Seoul The mayor of Seoul () is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budg ...

(1932–1996) changed the existing plans for the Seoul Subway to better enable connectivity around the growing Seoul City and allow for development to take place across the

Seoul Metropolitan Area The Seoul Metropolitan Area (Sudogwon; , ) or Gyeonggi (region), Gyeonggi region (), is the metropolitan area of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, located in north-western South Korea. Its population of 26 million (as of 2024) is ranked ...

. Line 2 was built in 1978–84 together with the Seongsu Branch (the second Sinjeong Branch was built 1989–95). Dangsan bridge was closed for reconstruction in 1996 and reopened November 22, 1999. The old steel girder bridge was replaced by a long concrete bridge between Dangsan on the southern side of the river and Hapjeong on the northern bank.

Yongdu station Yongdu Station is a station on the Seongsu Branch of the Seoul Subway Line 2. It is located in Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South ...

on the Seongsu Branch (between Sindap and Sinseol stations) is the first station in the Seoul Subway system with operating

platform screen doors Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail ...

. As of 2008 platform screen doors are operating at all stations along Line 2. New

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

has also progressively came on line, replacing older vehicles. *October 31, 1980: Sinseol-dong – Sports Complex (via Seongsu) section opened *December 23, 1982: Sports Complex – Seoul Nat'l Univ. of Education section opened *September 16, 1983: Euljiro 1-ga – Seongsu section opened; Sinseol-dong – Seongsu section separated as Seongsu Branch *December 17, 1983: Seoul Nat'l Univ. of Education – Seoul Nat'l University section opened *May 22, 1984: Seoul Nat'l University – Euljiro 1-ga (via Sindorim) section opened; the Circle Line (the longest in the world at until it was surpassed in 2013) is completed. *May 22, 1992: Sindorim – Yangcheon-gu Office section opened as Sinjeong Branch *February 29, 1996: Sinjeongnegeori Station opened as extension of Sinjeong Branch *March 20, 1996: Kkachisan Station opened as extension of Sinjeong Branch *October 20, 2005: Yongdu Station opened on the Seongsu Branch *September 2010:

Siemens Mobility Siemens Mobility GmbH is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, ...

ATP/ ATO GoA 2 signalling system implemented on newer trains to increase frequencies and route capacity.

Facilities

In December 2010 the line is recorded as having the highest WiFi data consumption in the Seoul Metropolitan area. It averaged 2.56 times more than the other 14 subway lines fitted with WiFi service zones. In 2011, retailer

Homeplus Homeplus () is a Korean discount store retail chain running about 140 branches with 25,000 employees throughout South Korea. Homeplus is the second largest retailer in South Korea, behind Shinsegae Group's e-mart chain. Homeplus operates its ...

opened the world's first virtual supermarket at

Seolleung station Seolleung Station is a Seoul Subway station that serves Line 2 and the Suin–Bundang Line. The station is named after the nearby Seonjeongneung, Joseon Dynasty royal tombs ''Seolleung'' (선릉, 宣陵) and ''Jeongneung'' (정릉, 靖陵). O ...

, where smartphone users can photograph the bar code of life-size pictures, on the walls and platform screen doors, of 500 items of food, toiletries, electronics etc., for delivery within the same day.

Stations

All stations on all branches are in Seoul.

Main Line

Seongsu Branch

Sinjeong Branch

Extension

There is a possible extension currently in the conception stage to extend the Sinjeong Branch to 3.7 km to Gayang Station on Line 9. The path would include a new station named Gangseo-gu Office in between Kkachisan and Gayang.

Route map

Rolling stock

Five generations of Seoul Metro 2000 series trains have been used on Seoul Subway Line 2. As of , only third, fourth and fifth batch 2000 series trains are in operation (manufactured by

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem Company, often referred to as Hyundai Rotem (), is a South Korean manufacturer of railway rolling stock, railway signalling, defense products and plant equipment. It is a member of Hyundai Motor Group and has presence in more than ...

and

Dawonsys Dawonsys () is a South Korean company manufacturing rolling stock, display, semiconductor, plant equipment, and environmental systems. It changed its name to the current one in May 2001 to reflect its parent company.

respectively), since all

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

(

MELCO Melco Holdings Inc. is a family business founded by Makoto Maki in 1975 and is located in Japan. The company's most recognizable brand is Buffalo Inc. Buffalo Inc. is currently one of the 16 subsidiaries of Melco Holdings Inc., initially found ...

thyristor A thyristor (, from a combination of Greek language ''θύρα'', meaning "door" or "valve", and ''transistor'' ) is a solid-state semiconductor device which can be thought of as being a highly robust and switchable diode, allowing the passage ...

chopper control) and second batch ( GEC Traction/

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

thyristor chopper control) trains have been retired between 2008 and 2023. All trains are stored and maintained at Sindap Depot on the Seongsu Branch and Sinjeong Depot on the Sinjeong Branch.

Notes

References

External links

Seoul Metro

Map, station and route finder
{{coord, 37.556, 126.940, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:KR, display=title Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines Railway loop lines Railway lines opened in 1980 1980 establishments in South Korea