Southern portion of inter-Korean railway to reopen

Posted on : 2014-12-25 14:19 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Inter-Korean relations would have to improve before Gyeongui Line can run to Sinuiju, North Korea, as was intended

The South Korean portion of the Gyeongui Line, which covers 48.6km, is being reopened as a double-line electric rail. The Gyeongui line is a 496.7km train line that once connected Seoul with Sinuiju in North Korea.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and the Korea Rail Network Authority announced that the southern section of the Gyeongui Line from Munsan Station to Yongsan Station will reopen on Dec. 27.

The opening of the 1.9km section from Yongsan Station to Gongdeok Station means that the train service will have returned to the entire 48.6km South Korean stretch of the line. This completes the Gyeongui Line’s transformation from a single-line diesel train to a double-line electric rail.

In addition, while the entire Gyeongui Line was above ground in the past, the recent renovation of the line has moved underground a 7.4km stretch running from Hyochang Park to Digital Media City. The space above the part of the line that has gone underground will for the most part be turned into parks.

Currently, 21 of the 22 stations on the Gyeongui Line are open for service. The one exception is Hyochang Station, which will be the final station to open in the first half of 2015.

With the section of the Gyeongui Line running from Yongsan to Munsan now open, the Gyeongui Line and the Jungang Line are now directly linked at Yongsan Station, allowing passengers to go from Munsan Station in Paju to Yongmun Station in Yangpyeong without transferring.

Before the full line was opened, the journey from Munsan Station to Yongmun Station, a distance of 119.8km, would have taken 3 hours and 5 minutes including transfers. But now, the journey can be made in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

The time required to travel from Munsan to Okso has been reduced from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes; from Munsan to Ichon, from 1 hour and 27 minutes to 1 hour and 7 minutes. The frequency of service has also been bumped up from 164 to 176 times a day.

The opening of the Gyeongui Line expands the transfer options at Yongsan Station, which will connect regular train service on the Gyeongui Line and the Honam Express Line with lines 1 and 4 in the Seoul subway system. Furthermore, 12 of the 22 stations on the line also offer transfers to subway lines 1 through 7, the airport railroad, and the Gyeongchun Line.

Since construction on the link to the North Korean railroad system was finished during the administration of Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008), rail service from Yongsan to Sinuiju, a journey of 496.7 km, could begin whenever inter-Korean relations improve. This would also enable rail connections from South Korea to the trans-Chinese and trans-Mongolian rail lines via the Chinese city of Dandong, on the border with North Korea.

The project to convert the Gyeongui Line into a double-line electric rail kicked off with a feasibility study in 1992, with construction beginning in 1999. The segment from Munsan to Digital Media City opened in 2009, which was then extended to Gongdeok in 2012.

 

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Related stories

Most viewed articles