[5] The film mostly takes place on a KTX from Seoul to Busan as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out in the country and threatens the safety of the passengers.

Other passengers include blue-collar worker Sang-hwa and his pregnant wife Seong-kyeong, COO Yon-suk, a high school baseball team including player Yong-guk and his cheerleader girlfriend Jin-hee, elderly sisters In-gil and Jong-gil, and a traumatized homeless stowaway hiding in the bathroom.

Seok-woo, Sang-hwa and Yong-guk – who have become separated from their loved ones – fight their way to where Su-an and Seong-kyeong are hiding with In-gil and the homeless man.

A flaming locomotive derails, separating the group and trapping Seok-woo, Su-an, Seong-kyeong and the homeless man underneath a carriage filled with zombies.

The homeless man sacrifices himself to buy time for Seok-woo to clear the debris, and he, Su-an and Seong-kyeong manage to escape onto the new locomotive.

Snipers stationed on the other side of the tunnel spot them, and prepare to shoot at them, believing them to be zombies, but they stand down when they hear Su-an singing "Aloha 'Oe", in tribute to her late father.

[12] The scenery that is seen outside the train in the film was shot with an LED plate rear screen technique behind the set piece that was based on the interior of the KTX-I, facilitating the increased focus on the characters.

The website's critics consensus states: "Train to Busan delivers a thrillingly unique — and purely entertaining — take on the zombie genre, with fully realized characters and plenty of social commentary to underscore the bursts of skillfully staged action.

[19] Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the film "borrows heavily from World War Z in its depiction of the fast-moving undead masses while also boasting an emotional core the Brad Pitt-starring extravaganza often lacked," adding that "the result is first-class throughout.

"[20] At The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis selected the film as her "Critic's Pick" and took notice of its subtle class warfare.

[21] In a more mixed review, David Ehrlich of IndieWire comments that "as the characters whittle away into archetypes (and start making senseless decisions), the spectacle also sheds its unique personality.

"[22] Kevin Jagernauth of The Playlist wrote: "[Train to Busan] doesn't add anything significant to the zombie genre, nor has anything perceptive to say about humanity in the face of crisis.

[citation needed] In the United Kingdom, it was 2017's fourth best-selling foreign language film on home video (below Operation Chromite, Your Name, and Guardians).

[42] Peninsula, a standalone sequel set four years after Train to Busan and also directed by Yeon, was released in South Korea on 15 July 2020 to mixed reviews.

[45] In 2018, New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster and Coin Operated were announced to be the co-producing partners for the remake, with Warner Bros. Pictures distributing worldwide, except for France and South Korea.