Data showed that the number of rail passengers in the country last year recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

According to the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and SR Corporation, the operator of SRT trains, on Sunday, 163-point-04 million people traveled on railways in 2023, which is 99-point-seven percent of the 163-point-five million logged in 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19.

These figures exclude passengers on metropolitan subways.

Last year, the number of passengers on KORAIL-operated trains was 136-point-69 million, while 26-point-35 million people traveled on SRT trains linking Sueso in southeast Seoul and Busan or Mokpo. SRT's ridership last year was the highest since it opened in December 2016.

The number of railway passengers decreased to 102-point-38 million in 2020 and 113-point-one million in 2021 due to the pandemic before turning around to 145-point-51 million in 2022.

Last year, the number of monthly rail passengers for KORAIL and SR was the highest in October at 14-point-73 million due to increased travelers during the Chuseok holiday and Hangeul Day.