Seoul: The total number of the Republic of Korea's railway passengers hit a record high last year, driven by growing demand for high-speed train services, the transport ministry said.

According to Emirates News Agency, a total of 172.2 million people traveled by train in 2025, marking a 0.6 percent increase from the previous year, as reported by Yonhap News Agency, citing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The country's two high-speed rail services, KTX and SRT, carried a record 118.7 million passengers last year, reflecting a 2.6 percent rise from a year ago. Approximately 93 million people used KTX, averaging 254,000 riders per day, while around 26 million traveled on SRT, with a daily average of 71,000.

However, the number of conventional train passengers decreased by 3.6 percent year-on-year to 53 million last year. The Seoul-Busan line emerged as the busiest route, with 83.6 million railway travelers, including 61.4 million on high-speed trains.

Seoul Station was the busiest train station last year, accommodating 43.9 million passengers. It was followed by Busan train station with 26.1 million and Dongdaegu train station with 20.5 million.