Metrolink / Seoul Subway

Perhaps it is unfair to compare this,

to this,

All the same, these are the two cities I know best.  Where it is fair to do so, I must compare. 

First, as said here, Seoul has seamless transfers between buses and trains despite the network being composed of several different companies and government bodies.

The size of the system aside, the actual trains and stations have a lot that can be compared one-to-one.  Let's look at this,

and this,

Which train car would you rather ride on?  One has lots of seats with no leg room.  The other has slightly fewer seats but loads of leg room and considerably more standing room.  On Seoul's subway one can walk from car to car from the front of the train to the back.  It is one long connected hallway, and the trains are very long.

The St. Louis Metrolink is more like two trains stuck together despite being about eight times shorter in length.  One cannot walk from one end to the other.  If one car is too crowded, the passenger should step off at the next station and walk in a different door to get to the other end of the train.  It isn't a metro train, it's light rail.

Imagine yourself trying to get from UMSL North to Union Station when the Cardinals are playing.  You barely get on.  When it is time to get off, you find there are too many people between you and the door.  There's simply no room.  Why?  Well, because there are all those seats and congestion can't move from one clogged car to the emptier one adjacent.

It is also interesting to point out that most of the subway trains in Seoul are color-coded.  When transfering at Jongno-3ga from line 3 to line 1, orange to blue, you should leave this,

and step onto this.

If you see this,

then you're at the wrong station altogether. You must have gotten off at Euljiro-3ga, fool.

Then there's the weather.

What do Metro passengers do on days like this?

If I remember from my winter walks to the station, I believe I simply shivered quite a lot.  Some stations, like Forest Park had heaters that used a lot of electricity to heat the outdoors.  The platforms have a few good spaces that are partially protected from the wind, but they're quite limited.

What do Koreans do in winter?

Many of Seoul's subway stations are underground.  As St. Louisans know, even that can be cold as 8th & Pine demonstrates.  In the past, Koreans had trouble with congested station platforms and sometimes people fell.  Sometimes people would commit suicide.  Either way, the subway system didn't like dead bodies.  Every station in the system now has or will soon have automatic glass doors.  There are two obvious things that come from this.  First, the platforms, above or below ground can be temperature controlled.  Second, trains must stop with their doors lined up correctly (which is never a problem).  I seem to remember some Metrolink drivers occasionally missing by a good ten feet sometimes.

Let's look at wayfinding. 

Look at all that shiny information.

There's a system map.

A map of the station layout with exit numbers.  This is especially helpful if you are transfering.

There is a map of the nearby area to tie you directly into the transit-oriented development that you are supposed to connect to.  It is also very important to help you figure out which exit to take to get where you are going.

Different exits have different bus stops, so the different stops and bus numbers are listed as well to help you figure out where you're going.

There is a system map and schedule on Metrolink platforms, but no maps of the nearby area.  That would be really helpful.  Imagine you get off at UMSL North and need to get to the JC Penny Building for the What is a City? conference.  If you had a map, you'd see the JC Penny Building in relation to yourself and head in the right direction.

The planning for the Seoul subway system is also very interesting.

This is the part of Seoul called Gangnam.  Looking closely we can see that the city is arranged in a grid pattern, but not like NYC's grid.  This is a grid of massive roads boxing in smaller roads.  The subway lines simply run under those larger roads.  When there are intersections, there are stations.  Between the intersections there are bus stops on both sides of the road and in the center.  Putting bus lanes and stops in the middle makes it easier to cross the street. 

If you live in one of these mega blocks, you should have four train stations in walking distance.  Depending on where you want to go, you walk towards that intersection.  The average station might have eight exits, like so,

You can't cross the street at the intersection, so just go down and pop up on the other side.

Maybe you can buy something while you're down there.