Seoul Metro changed its subway seats from fabric to plastic

Rail Transit Show News Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines 1 to 8, announced on Tuesday that it will replace all fabric seats on subway trains with reinforced plastic seats by 2029 to keep them clean from bed bugs and other pollutants.

According to Seoul Metro, cloth chairs on Seoul subway trains account for 1,955 of all seats, or 54 percent. On the other hand, 29% of Seoul subway trains have reinforced plastic seats and 17% stainless steel seats.

Reinforced plastic chairs are installed in the subway cars of Line 4. (Seoul Subway)

Seoul Metro added that it will first begin replacing all fabric seats in the 340 subway cars to be replaced on Line 3 with reinforced plastic seats. To replace seats on Line 3 trains, the subway operator expects to use a budget of 4.5 billion won ($3.3 million). By 2029, fabric seats on other metro trains will be switched to reinforced plastic seats.

The Seoul subway plans to replace subway seats at a time when there have been growing concerns about bed bugs being found in subway cars recently. Seoul Metro said it received 66 reports of bed bugs from October 2023 to March this year, but none of them were confirmed.

Seoul Metro said that the current condition of the Seoul subway is not suitable for bed bugs to live in.

An official of the Seoul subway said, "Bed bugs are insects that hide in crevices during the day and become more active at night, preferring damp, dark, and warm places. "The basic structure of the subway seats is made of metal, and the subway cars are stored outdoors when they are not running. As a result, subway cars in Seoul are an inhospitable environment for bed bug breeding. ”

Pest experts consulted by Seoul Metro said that the subway trains are constantly vibrating and the environment is bright, making it difficult for bed bugs to multiply during subway operation.

However, Seoul Metro added that these facts do not rule out the possibility of bed bugs being brought into the subway through passengers' clothes and luggage, which prompted the operator to replace all fabric seats to ensure a cleaner subway environment.

At the same time, the Seoul subway regularly conducts chemical pest control through high-temperature steam cleaning to eliminate possible bed bugs and other pests. In addition, the subway operator also works with a pest control company once a month to detect the presence of bed bugs in the subway cars.

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