Line 3
Construction on Line 3 started in 1980, along with its sister line, Line 4. It connects the city center to Gangnam (literally translated to "South of the River", in this case the Han River), and the northwestern and southeastern parts of Seoul. Its color is orange.
The line officially opened on July 12, 1985 (later than Line 4, which opened on April 20), from Gupabal to Yangjae.
Footage from the official opening.
In 1990, the line was extended one station northward past Gupabal to Jichuk. In October 1993, an extension to the south opened, from Yangjae to Suseo.
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In March 1996, the Ilsan Line was opened (Jichuk to Daehwa), and is considered the third extension to the line, connecting the city of Goyang to Seoul. The Ilsan Line and the rest of Line 3 run as one combined line, with trains being able to run from one end to the other. Officially, the Ilsan line is operated by Korail, and the rest of the line is operated by Seoul Metro. The two lines are sometimes listed separately.
On February 18, 2010, a 3 km extension was opened in the south from Suseo to Ogeum.
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On December 27, 2014, Wonheung Station opened between Wondang and Samsong, completing the current Line 3.
Suseo Station has since become the northern terminus of the Suseo high-speed railway (SRT), which connects to the existing Gyeongbu high-speed railway. Shown here is the SRT platform, which opened in December 2016.
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By Minseong Kim - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54414924
Trains terminate at Gupabal, Samsong, or Daehwa in the north. In the south, trains terminate either at Suseo or Ogeum.
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The current line covers 57.4 km (35.7 mi) of track (38.2 km for Line 3 and 19.2 km for the Ilsan Line). All track is on the right-hand side.
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There are two depots at Jichuk and Suseo.
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All stations on the line now feature screen doors.
Recent extension proposals have suggested extending the Ilsan line to the city of Paju.
Second generation Seoul Metro 3000-series train 3-01.
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By Subway06 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6767563
You can read more about the trains running on this line here.
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