Korail Class 1000

Technical details

South Korea had no experience of manufacturing and operating EMUs, so Japan built the first Class 1000 trains in 1974. As a result, the first Class 1000 trains were based on Japanese trains, but then later on, Korean companies changed the design of these trains, both mechanically and aesthetically. Electric parts were based on JNR 415 series, while car body was based on JNR 103 series.

Formation

The Class 1000 cars are arranged in 10-car trains. All trains use 6 motor (M) cars and 4 trailer (T) cars in a TC-M-M'-T-M-M'-T-M-M'-TC formation. Details of the car types are listed below:

An M-M' car pair is numbered 12XX-13XX, 14XX-15XX, or 16XX-17XX, respectively, and there can be multiple trains with the same first 2 digits (such as two 16XX-17XX pairs). Additionally, trailer cars (such as two 19XXs instead of a 18XX/19XX pair) have been irregularly placed as well. The final formation of trains 1-60~1-61 (since retired) was a TC-M-M'-M-M'-M-M'-M-M'-TC formation (four pairs of M-M' car pairs with no trailer car pairs) that allowed for a slightly faster acceleration.

Older Formations

When Seoul Subway Line 1 first opened, the Class 1000 cars were arranged in six-car trains, and were expanded to eight-car trains between 1980-1981 before being expanded to 10 cars by the 1990s. A six-car formation was as following (where YY is one integer greater than XX):

An eight-car formation was as following (where YY is one integer greater than XX, and ZZ is one integer greater than YY):

1st batch

Trains 1-01~1-41 were 1st batch trains and were introduced from 1974 to 1977. Their general appearance was similar to Japanese EMUs built around their time; in fact, trains 1-01~1-14 were assembled by various Japanese companies. However, trains 1-15~1-41 were built by Korean companies including Daewoo Heavy Industries under license. As a result, train 1-15 is nicknamed "The First Korean EMU". All of the 1st batch trains were based at Guro train depot and had the old Korean National Railroad (KNR) livery up to their retirement. The Seoul Metro Series 1000 trains are identical to these trains, and other Seoul Metro trains share similar designs with these trains.

The 1st batch trains were originally delivered as 6-car trains. However, as ridership increased on Line 1, the trains were re-arranged into 8-car trains in the 1980s, and finally 10-car trains by the 1990s. In doing so, the trains received new motor and trailer cars that were built in the mid-1980s, and existing cars were renumbered.

The train that became train 1-02 was involved in an accident at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies station on October 2, 1984, that led to two damaged cars (a driving car and a motor car) being scrapped and the other driving car being placed out of service. All three cars were eventually replaced by newer cars. The train that became train 1-14 experienced a similar accident at Incheon station and received the driving car that survived from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies station accident to replace the one car (a driving car) that was heavily damaged. As a result, trains 1-02 and 1-14 were retired later than expected.

The 1st batch trains were replaced by the Class 311000 trains and were retired and scrapped beginning in 1998 as the trains met the end of their 25-year lifespans. The last unrefurbished trains in service were 1-02 (due to newer cars built in 1984), 1-26~1-28, and 1-41, which were retired in June 2004.

After trains 1-29~1-35 were retired, the trains' trailer cars (1829-1835 and 1929-1935) were rebuilt into driving cars by Rotem in 2002 and received new front ends; these cars were built later than the rest of the trains 1-29~1-35 and had not met their 25-year lifespans. They were renumbered to cars 1088-1094 and 1188-1194, and were linked with 1st batch cars. The cars were replaced with 3rd generation Class 311000 trains and taken out of service in 2006 when they finally reached their 25-year lifespan, and were stored at the Byeongjeom Car Depot until 2011, when they were finally taken off property to be scrapped or preserved.

Additionally, many newer 1st batch cars were saved from retirement and linked in 2nd batch trains (some were even refurbished in 2006-2007), as they also had not exceeded their 25-year lifespans. Most of the trains that were salvaged were trailer cars (18XX and 19XX cars) but some motor cars were also saved. Most of the cars retained their numbers, but some are rumored to have been renumbered. These cars were last found in 2nd batch trains 1-42~1-52 and 1-55 and were retired slowly from January 2012 until September 2014, when the final 1st batch trailer cars in 2nd batch train 1-55 were retired with the rest of train 1-55, marking the end of service life of the 1st batch trains.

2nd batch

Trains 1-42~1-73 are 2nd batch trains and were introduced from 1986 to 1992. The 2nd batch trains were introduced mainly to supply more trains to Line 1.

The car body as a whole was redesigned. The front of the train was changed completely, and a train event recorder was introduced. Unlike the 1st batch trains, the 2nd trains were delivered with air-conditioning; thus SIV was introduced to power the air conditioners. All of the 2nd batch trains had the old Korean National Railroad (KNR) livery, but have received the new livery following overhaul. Trains 1-42~1-63 were built from 1986 to 1989 with long, rectangular-windowed doors while trains 1-64~1-73 were built from 1991 to 1992 with short, square-windowed doors. However, many cars with rectangular-windowed doors have been refitted with 1st batch trains' doors; car 1162 was the last car with rectangular-windowed doors until its retirement in July 2016. As a result, only trains with square-windowed doors remain.

The 2nd batch trains also allowed older trains to be extended; aside from trains 1-42~1-73, the trailer cars of 1st batch trains 1-39~1-41 (1839-1841 and 1939-1941) and four motor cars of train 1-41 (1441, 1541, 1641, and 1741) were also 2nd batch trains, all built in 1989 to extend the 1st batch trains to ten cars. Both trailer cars of 1-39~1-40 and car 1841 were converted into the trailer cars now found in Class 311000 trains 311-39~311-41, while trailer car 1941 was connected to various second batch trains until its retirement in 2013. Cars 1441, 1541, 1641, and 1741 were used in 2nd batch trains after the retirement of train 1-41, but all cars were retired with train 1-58 on May 1, 2010, when the whole train was damaged in an accident.

In 1999, three 2nd batch cars were rebuilt into driving cars by Daewoo Heavy Industries. They were renumbered into cars 1082, 1182 (former trailer cars 1842 & 1942), and 1087 (former trailer car 1943), and were linked with 1st batch cars. Because no car numbered 1187 was built, car 1087 ran with 3rd batch car 1186 and was retired in 2001. However, 1082 and 1182 lasted until 2006, when they were pulled from service due to structural integrity issues. As a result, both cars were stored at the Byeongjeom Car Depot until the end of 2011, when they were scrapped.

Trains 1-53, 1-57, 1-63 and 1-65 were prematurely retired, also in 2006, because they were using aging 1st batch cars, so it was found to be easier to retire the trains instead of refurbishing them to be fire-resistant. They were all stored at the Byeongjeom and Guro train depots and taken off property before the end of 2015.

On May 1, 2010, train 1-58 was retired due to a collision with Class 311000 train 311-74 (which was known as Class 5000 train 5-75 at the time of the collision). Car 1158 suffered significant damage while seven cars behind it received minor damage. On the other hand, train 5-75, which received minor front end damage, was repaired and then renumbered into 311-74 since all Class 311000 trains were being renumbered from the 5000-series to the 311000-series. Consequently, all cars in the train (cars 1058 and 1258 would be scrapped years after the incident in 2014 or 2015), were scrapped.

The remaining 2nd batch trains are gradually being replaced by the Class 311000 and 312000 trains and have been retiring and being scrapped since 2012. The majority of trains between trains 1-42~1-71 have been retired from 2012 to 2017, and cars from these trains were scrapped or preserved. Trains 1-72 and 1-73 remain in revenue service and are based exclusively from the Guro Train Depot. They are expected to be retired in 2017.

3rd batch

Trains 1-74~1-81 and 1-83~1-86 are 3rd batch trains and were introduced from 1994 to 1997, before the Class 311000 (former Class 5000) EMUs were introduced but after the 1st generation Class 341000 and 351000 (former Class 2030) EMUs were introduced. The 3rd batch trains were introduced mainly to supply more trains to Line 1.

The 3rd batch trains also allowed older trains to be extended; aside from the newly-built trains, many additional motor and trailer cars were built to expand 2nd batch trains from 4 cars to 6 cars or 6 cars to 10 cars (namely, trains 1-50~1-53 and 1-57~1-63). The expansion cars are numbered 1457-1463, 1557-1563, 1650-1653/1659-1661, 1750-1753/1759-1761, 1850-1853/1859-1861, 1950-1953/1959-1961, and 1482/1582. These cars can be found in 2nd batch trains 1-62 & 1-64 and 3rd batch trains 1-81 & 1-83~1-86.

The trains share a similar front end design with the Class 341000 and 351000 trains (as their front ends were derived from those trains' designs), but are otherwise identical to the other Class 1000 trainsets. Therefore, they only operate with other Class 1000 cars. All of the 3rd batch trains were delivered in the old Korean National Railroad (KNR) livery but they have received new livery following overhaul.

The 3rd batch trains are all based from the Guro train depot. The only cars that were retired were the non-driving trailer cars and motor cars of train 1-74 (which were retired when train 1-62 was taken out of service), and 1459-1461 and 1559-1561 (which were retired when train 1-61 (where the cars were located) was taken out of service).

Refurbishments

Preservation

After retirement, a handful of Class 1000 cars were either preserved or repurposed into facilities such as restaurants and pension trains. As of 2015, many 1st batch and 2nd batch cars have been preserved.

Preserved 1st batch cars include (though not limited to):

Cars 1106 (pictured) and 1109, used as a part of a local restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong, Incheon, and car 1032 was used as a part of a local restaurant in Dong-gu, Daejeon. All 3 cars were sold and are now possibly scrapped.

Preserved 2nd batch cars include: