Since September 1, 2026, SRT and KTX run as one service called KTX, according to an official release, so our suggested order is to search for former SRT trains on Korail’s English site or in the KORAIL+ app.
Last checked: November 7, 2026
We read SR’s booking site, Korail’s English pages and press releases, and the KORAIL+ App Store listing for this article. We have not bought a ticket, installed the app or ridden a train.
Key takeaways
- A release posted on Korail’s press board says KTX and SRT became one service, KTX, on September 1, 2026.
- SR’s own booking site says former SRT routes can be booked as KTX through KORAIL+.
- Korail’s English guide says tickets go on sale at 07:00, two months before the travel date.
- In the Korail pages we checked, the wording that excludes SRT trains from the KORAIL PASS appears in a notice dated November 1, 2024, before the merger, and on the English home page, so our suggestion is to ask Korail whether the pass covers your train before you count on it.
In this guide
- The order we suggest
- Why older SRT advice may be out of date
- Which station you leave from
- Where you can buy
- Cards, accounts and passports
- When tickets go on sale
- Rail passes and former SRT trains
- Changing or refunding
- After you buy
- FAQ
- Sources and what we checked
The order we suggest
- Our suggestion is to decide your departure station and date first, then search on Korail’s English site or in KORAIL+.
- Our suggestion is to pay by credit card, because that is the payment option Korail’s English guide lists.
- If you hold a KORAIL PASS, our suggestion is to ask Korail whether it covers your train before you plan a trip around it.
- Our suggestion is to carry the original ticket and not rely on a screenshot, because Korail says captured images are not valid for boarding.
Why older SRT advice may be out of date
A guide written before September 2026 may treat SRT as a separate company with its own app. SR’s booking site now shows a notice that the SRT app and Korail Talk run as one app, KORAIL+. The same notice says former SRT routes can be booked as KTX through KORAIL+ for trains running from September 1. A second pop-up says the SRT app is due to end its service, and it gives no date. The August 31 release on Korail’s press board says the KORAIL+ app launched on August 3 and combined the Korail Talk and SRT apps. We did not test whether the SR website still shows trains or sells tickets, so our suggestion is to treat Korail as the main place to search.
Which station you leave from
SR’s company site lists Suseo, Dongtan and Pyeongtaek-Jije as its exclusive stations. Korail says its combined booking service lets you book all high-speed trains in one place, whether they leave from Seoul, Suseo or Yongsan. Our reading is that you no longer need to choose between two companies’ services before you search. Our suggestion is to check the departure station on your ticket before you travel, because Suseo, Seoul and Yongsan are different stations. For a general walk-through of booking Korail trains, see our Korea train tickets guide.
Where you can buy
Korail’s English guide says you can buy tickets on the Korail website, in the KORAIL+ app, at ticket vending machines and at train stations, but not at subway stations. Korail’s FAQ also mentions “other ticketing vendors” without naming them, so our suggestion is to use Korail’s own channels. The App Store listing calls KORAIL+ the official mobile app of Korea Railroad Corporation and says its language support is meant to help foreigners.
Cards, accounts and passports
Korail’s English guide lists credit card as the payment option. Its FAQ explains how long refunds to overseas cards take, so our reading is that cards issued abroad are part of the process. Our suggestion is to read our foreign cards guide before you pay.
The guide says you confirm a ticket with the e-mail address and password you used when you bought it. It says to enter them correctly, including capital letters. The FAQ also has a question about cancelling a ticket issued to an unregistered customer, so our reading is that non-member tickets exist in Korail’s system. The English guide and FAQ text we read does not mention a Korean phone number or a passport number for a regular ticket. We did not reach the checkout pages, so we cannot say what the site asks for there. A pass is different: Korail says a valid passport and credit card are required to buy a KORAIL PASS.
If you booked as a non-member in the old SRT app or on the SR website, an SR notice dated September 30 gives two ways to check a KTX ticket. One is a KakaoTalk message sent from the sender named “코레일 기차”, and the other is a non-member login in KORAIL+.
When tickets go on sale
Korail’s English ticketing guide says tickets are sold from 07:00 two months before the travel date. Its FAQ gives the same time, and its ticket reservation page says up to two months in advance. Korail’s October press release says this changed for foreign rail users from one month to two months on October 1. A Korail English notice for pass holders, dated November 1, 2024, says one month, so our reading is that its wording is out of date. The guide says sales close at departure on the website and at stations, and 10 minutes before departure at vending machines.
Rail passes and former SRT trains
Korail’s English pass page says the KORAIL PASS is for foreigners visiting Korea who want to travel across the country by train. The page lists the metropolitan railway and temporary tourist trains as not included, and it does not name SRT. A Korail English notice dated November 1, 2024 says pass holders cannot board SRT trains, and the same wording appears on Korail’s English home page. That notice was written before the 2026 merger, and we found no Korail page that says whether pass holders can ride the former SRT trains now. A later notice, dated November 11, 2025, says pass types and age categories changed from December 11, 2025. Our suggestion is to call Korail at +82-1599-7777 and ask before you plan a Suseo trip around a pass, since Korail lists that number for 08:00 to 20:00 every day.
For other apps and pass basics, see our Korea travel apps guide.
Changing or refunding
Before departure, Korail’s English guide directs web and home tickets to the MY TICKET menu on the KORAIL website and mobile tickets to the KORAIL+ app for a refund. After departure, it says you must go to a station counter. It also says no refund is possible after the arrival time on the ticket. The penalty depends on timing, and weekends and holidays have their own rates. We did not summarise the penalty table, so our suggestion is to read it on the guide page before you pay. A Korean press release from October 8 describes two newer rules: no change penalty when you move your travel date by up to seven days earlier or later, and no refund penalty when you cancel within 10 minutes of payment, both up to 30 minutes before departure, with the refund waiver limited to twice a day. The English guide does not repeat these rules, and we did not check whether they apply to bookings made on the English site. Korail’s FAQ says refunds to overseas cards take two weeks to one month, and card payments are not refunded in cash.
After you buy
Korail’s FAQ says captured images and copied tickets are not valid for boarding. Our suggestion is to keep the e-mail and password from your purchase, because the guide says they open your ticket again.
If a bus suits your route better than a train, see our guide to buying Korean bus tickets in English for which booking site covers express and intercity buses.
FAQ
Do SRT and KTX still run as separate services?
A release posted on Korail’s press board says they run as one service, KTX, from September 1, 2026, and SR’s booking site points users to KORAIL+.
Can a foreigner buy SRT tickets online?
Korail’s English guide lists its website and the KORAIL+ app as places to buy, with credit card as the payment option. We did not reach checkout, so we cannot list what the site asks for there.
When do tickets go on sale?
Korail’s English guide says from 07:00, two months before the travel date.
Can I use a KORAIL PASS on the former SRT trains?
We found no current official answer, and Korail’s 2024 notice that says no was written before the merger, so our advice is to ask Korail.
Sources and what we checked
We read the SR booking site, SR’s September 30 notice, the SR company site and Korail press releases of August 31, September 18 and October 8. We also read Korail’s English ticketing guide, FAQ, KORAIL PASS page and contact page, and the KORAIL+ App Store listing, on November 7, 2026. We read the Korail English pages in a fresh browser without logging in or entering anything, and read the SR pages, press releases and App Store page directly. Official wording, our advice and unresolved points are separated throughout.