South Korea’s KTX began commercial service in 2004.
The first KTX services launched on April 1, 2004, after 12 years of construction. The opening introduced high-speed rail on the first phase of the Gyeongbu High-Speed Railway, linking Seoul and Busan, while some sections still used upgraded conventional tracks.
KTX stands for Korea Train eXpress and is operated by Korail. Its initial trains, known as KTX-I, were based on technology supplied through a technology-transfer partnership involving France’s Alstom, while Korean companies participated in manufacturing and system development.
Later developments expanded KTX service to routes such as Honam and introduced newer train families, including KTX-Sancheon. A frequent mistake is dating KTX to the start of construction in 1992; that was the beginning of the Seoul–Busan high-speed project, not passenger operations.