I’m taking the KTX at Suseo Station… Integration of high-speed railways is underway.

KTX-SRT Merger by End of Next Year, ‘‘,
, ‘Starting from March next year, you will be able to board SRT at Seoul Station and KTX at Suseo Station.’,
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, ‘The cross-operation is kicking off ahead of the high-speed rail merger, a promise made by President Lee Jae-myung. However, there are significant challenges to overcome before full integration.’,
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, ‘Let’s connect with our reporter for more details. Reporter Kang Mi-sun, what are the most noticeable changes that the public can expect from this high-speed rail integration?’,
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, ‘Yes, the biggest change will be an increase in available seats due to the cross-operation of KTX and SRT.’,
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, ‘Starting from March next year, you will be able to board SRT at Seoul Station and KTX at Suseo Station.’,
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, ‘This will increase the number of high-speed rail seats by about 16,000 per day.’,
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, ‘The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport plans to initially operate the crossing during hours with fewer users and gradually increase operations.’,
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, ‘At the same time, a phased integration of the high-speed rail ticketing system is also being pursued.’,
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, ‘By the second half of next year, you will be able to search for trains at Seoul Station, Yongsan Station, and Suseo Station with one app by simply searching “Seoul.”’,
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, “The government announced its goal to integrate high-speed rail by the end of next year and even used the term ‘make efforts.’ This implies there are many hurdles to tackle, right?”,
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, ‘Firstly, the government clarified that this integration is not a unilateral absorption by Korail.’,
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, ‘The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is also considering options like new branding and names rather than just merging the systems of both organizations.’,
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, ‘They stated that a tripartite body will be formed to ensure that SR employees will face no disadvantages regarding employment and welfare during the integration process.’,
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, ‘The government emphasized that it will directly supervise the operational system to minimize any adverse effects on safety and service.’,
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, ‘As for SRT fares, which are about 10% cheaper than KTX, they will decide on future pricing once they see how seat availability expands from March next year.’,
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, ‘The Ministry explained that once the Fair Trade Commission’s approval for the merger process is completed, institutional integration could be possible by December next year.’,
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, ‘This has been Kang Mi-sun from Korea Economic TV reporting from the newsroom.’,
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