A Comparative Study on the Passenger's Time Saving Effects of Urban Express Railway Service

The goal of the transportation policy of Seoul is to increase the ridership of the subway system by constructing the public transportation network, the subway system. To accomplish this goal, the city of Seoul has been constructing the Metropolitan Subway System. Currently, seven subway lines which connect major areas in Seoul are operating. However, the ridership of subway system was not increased as much as we expected, even though more subway lines have been implemented. It seems that although the length of the subway line was extended, the current way of the subway operation that trains stop at every station cannot satisfy the passenger's need. Thus, we should try to increase the demand by providing quicker services and diversifying the subway operations; changing the point of view is required. This paper introduces the distinctive features of the express subway system and the model for analysing the effects of that system. This paper also presents the results for the feasibility study of the express subway system on the 5th Subway Line and Kyong-Eue Railway Line. Based on the results of the case studies, We can conclude as : First, the express system reduces a total travel time by about $13\%$; in particular, the Kyong-Eue Line is more effective than the subway Line ${\sharp}5$. Second, the shorter headway of express trains increases the time saving effects on subway system although it requests more waiting time to low-speed train passengers. When the service frequency is increased from 5 to 7.5 times/hour, total saved time ratio is about $10\%$ in the Subway Line ${\sharp}5$ and about $18\%$ in the Kyong-Eue Line.