From September 1, 2026, high-speed trains leaving both Seoul Station and Suseo Station are searched and booked together in one place.
That place is the KORAIL+ app and the KORAIL website, so older guides that walk through the separate SRT app no longer match what a booking screen shows.
This post covers the new booking flow, which accounts must be switched before booking, the fare changes, and the Chuseok payment dates.
KORAIL SRT booking after Sept 1: how the integrated app works
SRT rides from Suseo are no longer a separate booking.
Since September 1, 2026, the KORAIL+ app searches and books trains departing Seoul and Suseo in one search, per the integration summary.
In practice this means one search can compare a Seoul-departing KTX and a Suseo-departing SRT side by side, and the ticket is paid for in the same app.
The ticketing flow itself stays the same four steps: search, reserve, pay, issue.
Tickets open one month before departure at 07:00 and stay purchasable until 20 minutes before departure on the website, and until departure time in the app, per the official booking guide.
After payment, self-issue a smartphone ticket or a home ticket.
The old SRT app is not deleted right away, and its booking function still works in non-member mode for users who have not switched.
For anything booked as a guest, the SRT site posted a non-member ticket check guide on August 20, 2026.
For refunds, app-purchased tickets can be refunded in the app up to 10 minutes after departure; after that, only a station counter can process it, and nothing is refundable after arrival.
Credit card installment payment is available for purchases of 50,000 KRW or more.
Lost paper tickets cannot be refunded or reissued unless the purchase is verifiable through a member number or credit card, and only for designated-seat tickets.
*Seoul–Busan KTX and Yongsan–Gwangju Songjeong one-way fares, before vs after September 1, 2026.*
| Booking channel | KORAIL+ app and KORAIL website search Seoul and Suseo departures together |
|---|---|
| Fares | KTX fares cut about 10% on average; Seoul–Busan 59,800 → 54,400 KRW |
| Mileage | 5% of ticket payment, now including Suseo-departing trains |
| Old SRT app | Kept in non-member mode, not removed at once |
| Chuseok payments | Window opens September 12; general reservations paid by September 15 |
Chuseok 2026 booking results: what happened after Sept 12
The first holiday booking under the KTX–SRT integration repeated the familiar ‘ticket war’. General reservations ran September 7–11 from 07:00 to 13:00, and despite KORAIL adding about 16,000 seats per day and expanding web servers, large access delays occurred.
| Item | Confirmed result |
|---|---|
| Queue on booking day 1 | Wait numbers in the 500,000s at 07:00 reported; 100,000 waiting on a Gyeongbu-line attempt |
| Wait time examples | One user booked after 1h 30m; another got in after 2h to find most times sold out |
| Payment start | From midnight September 12 |
| General reservation payment | Due by September 15 |
| Priority (transport-vulnerable) pre-booking payment | Due by September 18 |
| Train dates | September 23–27, 5 days |
The integration itself went ahead as planned: SRT trains now run as integrated trains renamed ‘KTX-Suseo’, departures from September 1 are searched and booked together in the KORAIL+ app (the old SRT app’s booking function remains available in non-member mode for users who have not switched), and weekend seats expanded by more than 17,000 with 25+ additional runs, 5% mileage on SRT routes, Suseo transfer discounts, non-reserved cars, expanded delay compensation, and softened cancellation penalties.
Missed the sale? Cancellations tend to appear around midnight when penalty-sensitive holders cancel, and waitlisted reservations are released around 03:00, so those windows are the practical times to retry.
Member conversion: who must do what
What a member must do depends on which accounts exist today.
Existing KORAIL members are converted to the integrated membership automatically, so no separate sign-up step is needed.
Users who held only an SR account must sign up as a new KORAIL member and then complete a benefit-transfer procedure, per the conversion guide.
Users with both accounts are converted automatically, but they must agree to migrate SRT usage records and discount coupons.
Coupon handling is the part that can surprise people: SR posted a notice on August 6, 2026 that member coupons are migrated and some coupon uses are suspended under the integrated system, visible on the SRT notice board.
So a coupon sitting in an SR account may not work on the booking day unless the transfer is agreed first.
SR also posted integration Q&A on August 7 and an SRT app operation notice on August 21, both on the same notice board.
Doing the sign-up and transfer before the reservation day removes the login problems that peak-day traffic makes worse.
Fares, mileage, and discount products
KTX fares dropped by about 10% on average after the integration.
The Seoul–Busan standard fare went from 59,800 KRW to 54,400 KRW one-way, which is 5,400 KRW saved each way and 10,800 KRW per person on a round trip.
A family of four riding Seoul–Busan round trip saves about 43,200 KRW under the reduced fares.
The Yongsan–Gwangju Songjeong example went from 46,800 KRW to 42,000 KRW, saving 4,800 KRW one-way.
Rail members earn 5% mileage on ticket payments, and that benefit now covers Suseo-departing high-speed trains too.
Booking a Suseo KTX together with a connecting conventional train takes 30% off the conventional train fare.
Discount products for pregnant travelers, teens, and youth, plus online special fares and card discounts, were expanded to Suseo high-speed trains as well.
Weekday and weekend cancellation penalties differ sharply, so check before refunding: on weekdays cancellation is free up to 2 days before departure, while on weekends and holidays a 5% penalty applies from one day before and 20% from 3 hours before, per the official penalty table.
For Chuseok and Seollal tickets the penalty is a flat 400 KRW up to 2 days before departure, reduced if refunded within 7 days of purchase.
*Weekday vs weekend and holiday penalty rates from 3 hours before departure, 2026.*
Chuseok 2026 booking timeline
Chuseok trains follow their own calendar this month, and the deadlines are close together.
The payment window for Chuseok train reservations opens September 12, and general reservations must be paid by September 15, according to the Chuseok travel guide.
That gives 11 days between the integration date and the payment window, and 14 days to the general payment deadline.
On Seoul–Busan routes, KTX seats can sell out weeks before the Chuseok peak, per the peak-season warning.
An unpaid reservation is at risk of cancellation once the September 15 deadline passes, so completing the member switch and the coupon transfer before booking day matters more this year.
*September 2026: integration, Chuseok payment window, and payment deadline.*
👉 Chuseok travel guide for Korea
👉 Chuseok travel guide for Korea
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Sources
- Integration from Sept 1, 2026; KORAIL+ app unified booking; (blog.bebooja.com)
- Notices: Aug 21 SRT app/website operation, Aug 7 integration (eticket.srail.kr)
- Payment window Sept 12, general deadline Sept 15; KTX sells (habkorea.net)
Before booking autumn travel
- Update the KORAIL+ app and confirm the integrated-membership login works
- Finish the SR-to-KORAIL benefit transfer before the reservation day, not on it
- For Chuseok trips, book early and complete payment by September 15
FAQ
Q. How do I book SRT now that it moved to KORAIL?
Use the KORAIL+ app or the KORAIL website from September 1, 2026. One search covers Seoul-departing KTX and Suseo-departing SRT trains together.
Q. Is the old SRT app gone?
Not immediately. Its booking function remains in non-member mode for users who have not switched accounts yet.
Q. When are Chuseok 2026 train payments due?
The payment window opens September 12, and general reservations must be paid by September 15.
Q. Why was KORAIL booking so slow for Chuseok 2026?
On the first booking day, wait numbers reached the 500,000s at 07:00, and a Gyeongbu-line attempt showed 100,000 people in queue. KORAIL added about 16,000 seats per day and expanded servers and lines, but large access delays still occurred.
Q. What happens if I miss the Chuseok train payment deadline?
Unpaid general reservations were auto-cancelled after September 15 and reassigned to waitlisted users; transport-vulnerable pre-bookings had until September 18. Unpaid seats went back into the pool, so checking waitlist releases around 03:00 is the way to recover a seat.
Update the KORAIL+ app and finish your SR-to-KORAIL benefit transfer before your next booking day.
Cover photo: AI-generated illustration (high speed train) — AI-generated image, illustrative only
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