15 Oct 2012 - Journey from Petite France to Cheongnyangni station

The city tour bus stop will be on your right after coming out from Petite France. It is located along the main road. I have two options. 

Option 1) Leave Petite France by 3.40pm for city tour bus which will arrive at 3.50pm to Gapyeong station. Will arrive at Gapyeong station at 4.20pm. From Gapyeong station, take ITX(4.28pm/5.01pm) to Cheongnyangni Station(5.07pm/5.43pm).  Alternatively, from Gapyeong station, take ITX(4.28pm) and reach Yongsan station at 5.24pm.

Option 2) Leave Petite France by 3.30pm for city tour bus which will arrive at 3.40pm to Cheongpyeong station. Will arrive at Cheongpyeong station at 4.05pm. From Cheongpyeong station, take ITX (5.09pm) back to Cheongnyangni station.  Reach Cheongnyangni Station at 5.43pm.  Ticket costs KRW3100 and 32 mins train journey. 

I wanted to get back to Seoul as early as I could but I chose option 2, just in case I couldn't catch the ITX that leaves at 4.28pm from Gapyeong station to Cheongnyangni/Yongsan station. Why is there no ITX serving from Cheongpyeong station to Yongsan station??  I still have to transfer at Cheongnyangni station for the subway...

Reached Cheongpyeong station at 4.05pm.  I still have an hour before my ITX arrive. Of course, I can also choose to take subway from Cheongpyeong station. That will take 71mins with one transfer to reach Cheongnyangni station. Its up to individual and I chose to wait for the ITX although its boring to wait at the train station. 

Lucky for me.  I have him to keep me entertained as I waited at the train station.
This cutie was full of expressions and actions ^^

He was really cute ^^

I noticed the announcements on the LED screen at Cheongpyeong station was in Korean only.  Not to worry, there will be English in the vocal announcements for passengers to go to the platform. This picture was taken when I was about to alight from the ITX. There was nobody on the upper deck, so I could take pictures without any worries ㅋㅋㅋ

Unlike the lower deck, there was no compartment above the seats to put your luggage. Oh before I forget, there was nobody to check the tickets when I was sitting here.  However, the cabin crew checked my ticket when I was at the standing area yesterday. Yup, she checked the tickets of all the passengers in the standing area. 

Ermm....I was busy chasing after this dog after I got off the train. I love dogs and was amazed to see a big dog taking a train. I wanted to take a picture of it, so I chase after it! Hahaaa..We were at the same compartment on the upper deck and I almost step on the dog's leg. Thank goodness I noticed it on time. I got a fright when I looked down and saw a tail wagging.  Hahahaa cos I never expect to see an animal on the train. I told Jae it was my first time to see a big dog taking the train.  Does the owner need to buy a ticket for the dog?

From the ITX, I need to transfer to the subway.  However, I was so busy chasing after the dog that I forgot to take note where to tap my T money before boarding the subway!  I decided to "cheat" and took the easy way out.  I will approach the staff at the subway station when I reach City Hall station. Yup, I planned to have my dinner at City Hall area. The dog's owners could not find the machine to tap their T money as well. They asked the police or guards but they didn't seem to know.

There will be an instruction on the ITX train to teach you how and where to tap T money when making transfer from ITX to subway, so watch out for it.  I made the same mistake yesterday by not tapping my T money when I transferred from ITX to subway for Myeongdong station. The message on the machine showed "card error"(something like that) when I tapped my T money to exit the station.  Obviously, it will be invalid since I didn't tap my T money to take the subway.  Hence, I approached the staff for help. 

With reference from this link Visitseoul, it says "Passengers may transfer from the ITX - Cheongchun to the subway using their T-money cards. Just scan your card over the T-money scanner before and after you board the ITX - Cheongchun, and before and after you board the subway to avoid paying additional fees."