How to get from Incheon airport to Seoul station by Airport Express train [A’REX]

I usually get a shuttle bus from Seoul Incheon international airport to Seoul station, but this time, I took the airport express train, called A’REX.

It is actually cheaper than bus and Seoul’s heavy traffic jam never affects train timetable, so it is actually a lot more convenient than taking a bus from Incheon, if your destination is the Seoul station, or anywhere close.

Getting on the train, from the Seoul Incheon International Airport arrival floor

After the immigration and custom at the Incheon international airport, you will be in the arrival floor. And usually wherever you exit from, you will see a sign, which says “KTX” like this↓↓

It says [airport railroad] in Korean (in yellow), right next to the KTX sign. It is also written in English, so I think you will have no problem finding the way you need to take. Following the KTX sign, you need to go downstairs to take the train↓↓

It depends on where you are exiting from custom area, but in general, you need to go down to the basement in order to get to the platform. The platform for airport express trains is located right next to the KTX platform, so you can just follow the KTX sign up till certain point.

There will be always a big sign with a train icon, so you will easily find your way, even if you cannot understand a single Korean word.

Anyways, you will need to follow the sign, all the way. After a while, you find yourself in a big empty spaces like this↓↓

And in the middle of the big space, you will see [Travel Center], and there, you can buy a ticket for the airport express train↓↓

How much is it in Korean Won from Incheon airport to the Seoul station?

When I took the train, it was 8,000 won for 1 way.

But this price was a campaign price and the full price is actually 14,500↓↓ I heard that the half-price-campaign has been going on for quite a while, but you may want to check before you take at the ticketing counter, if you could receive any type of discount for the train fare.

When I was there, there were other couple of campaigns for different types of credit cards, but that half-price-campaign gave me the biggest discount, so I took it.

You need to reserve a seat and the ticket itself doesn’t tell you seat; the receipt has your seat assignment, so you will need to keep the receipt! Ticket looks like this↓↓

It says here too, to keep your receipt for checking the seat assignment↑↑ You could also buy a ticket on those auto-ticketing machines, but,,,↓↓

Auto-ticketing machines↓↓

You may need a credit card that has been issued in Korea. I never tried with the other card, but I heard that some of the credit cards issued outside of Korea did not work on the machine.

Even if you get your ticket at the [Travel Center] that I mentioned above, the price will be the same. So it is safer and quicker to just buy your ticket at the ticketing counter. You can also ask for some discount program at the counter too!

Timetable for the Incheon international airport express train

The airport express train has a timetable and it runs very punctually, however the timetable often changes.

So please refer to the official website for the timetable↓↓

check the timetable here on the Airport Express official homepage!

Platform to get on the airport express train

The platform for the airport express is located on the further basement, and there is another platform for a normal subway, so you will need to follow the orange sign (blue one if for all the other normal subway) in order to get to the airport express platform.

This is the gate for getting the airport express train platform.

They are also colored in Orange.

The other way, following the blue sign, will lead you to the blue gate for all the other normal subway.

If you need to get to the station on the airport line, other than Seoul station, you will need to take the normal train that stops at every stations in between Seoul Incheon International Airport and Seoul station.

(There was a roller skate link in the middle… ↓↓)

Once you pass the orange gate, you will find your way to get to the platform↓↓

As far as I saw,, I couldn’t find any convenience stores or Kiosk… in case you want to get some drinks or snacks, so you may want to buy something before you go through the gate.

There was a waiting room↓↓ but I couldn’t even find a single vending machine…

going down to the platform↓↓

I went to look for my seat where it says on the receipt I received at the ticket counter.

There is a sign on top of the door with a car number↓↓

When you get on the train, you will see a storage lack for your suitcase, but in case of Incheon International Airport, there usually a lot of people with big luggage and suitcases. So when it’s a busy day, it may be difficult to find a space to put your suitcase.

In my case, when I took the train, there were not so many people, so I just kept all my luggage at my seat; I didn’t have anyone sitting on the seat next to me.

It takes about 44 minutes from Incheon Airport to Seoul Station

The train journey was unbelievably short compared to the usual bus trip.

Sometimes, bus takes less than an hour too, but usually I cannot estimate the time it takes by bus because of unexpected traffic jam or any accidents during rush hours.

In that sense, I would say the airport express train is a lot better, as you can always expect your train to take 44 minutes and usually they are never late.

Seoul to Myeongdong stations are only 2 stations away!

At the Seoul station, the gate was also colored in Orange.

And above the gate, it says #1 and #4 <- this is the line number for Seoul subway, and KTX.

If you would like to transfer to the Seoul subway, you need to follow this line.

In any case, you have to get out of the gate first, and then follow the sine.

Till some point, KTX and line #1 / #4 signs always appear together↓↓

This is where KTX and subway signs show different ways.

You will need to go up on the 2nd floor of Seoul station to take KTX, and as for Seoul subway, you need to go down a bit further.

Taxi is also recommended to get to your destination around Seoul station

This is the exit (exit #15) which is the closest to the airport express platform↓↓

And in front of this entrance, there is a taxi stand and you will always find taxi there.

If your destination is somewhere around this Seoul station area, taxi is always another way to get around Seoul. Especially if you have a lot of luggage, taxi is the easiest and cheap way to get to your destination.

Taxi in Korea is very cheap in general and just for a reference, from Seoul station exit #15 to Myeongdong was about 3,800 Korean Won.

If you are travelling with another or a couple of other people, then taxi may be even cheaper than taking subways all together.

Conclusion：Airport Express is fast and cheap way to get to the Seoul station from Incheon

I usually took a shuttle bus to get to Seoul, but in case if my destination is around Seoul station, it is a lot quicker and cheaper to take this airport express till Seoul station.

Unless your destination is in the other area very far from Seoul station, or any big hotel and the shuttle bus has a bus stop right at the hotel, I would recommend to take this airport express as it is cheap and fast.

Buses sometime have advantages, but I really enjoyed this reliable mean of transportation.

Taking bus is okay, but you never know whether the bus you are taking will arrive on time, because of traffic jam.

When you have a lot of time, then it would be okay, but usually I use Incheon for my business trips and I usually have a tight schedule, so taking bus could be a risk for me.

Bus is recommended for later in the night, or getting to other area of Seoul

In case, your destination is Gangnam, Jamsil, Guro, or any other area that is far away from Seoul station, then you may want to choose shuttle bus that goes directly to your destination area.

Seoul station has only 2 subway lines that are #1 and #4, which I think they are not too convenient; None of those lines are going further to the east side of Seoul.

Taking taxi from Seoul station to wherever your destination is, is also fine, but then it defies the point of taking the train; you can take a shuttle bus to get to the area directly from the airport.

Also, when your airplane arrives at the Incheon airport later in the night, there are not many express train in the night.

So depending on when you arrive to the airport, you may want to choose shuttle busses as in some cases, buses run more frequently than the airport express trains.