▲ Conceptual rendering of Wirye Tram cars and pedestrian-shared space
The opening of the Wirye Tram, originally scheduled for December of this year, has been postponed to next year.
Although construction has reached 97 percent completion, the time required for the opening has extended as additional traffic safety procedures take time to ensure safety, a characteristic of trams that share operating spaces with pedestrians and vehicles.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has resolved differences among related agencies regarding the installation of traffic safety facilities for the Wirye Tram and has fully embarked on subsequent procedures such as traffic facility safety inspections.
The Wirye Tram is a 5.4-kilometer route connecting Macheon Station on Subway Line 5 to Bokjeong Station on Line 8 and the Suin-Bundang Line, and links to Namwirye Station on Line 8.
It is planned to feature 12 stations and one vehicle depot, operating with eight train sets.
The Wirye Tram will be the first in South Korea to adopt a catenary-free system that runs on roof-mounted batteries without overhead wires, and is built with a low-floor design for vulnerable transport users.
Major infrastructure construction, including tracks, stations, and the vehicle depot, has been completed, and all tram cars have been delivered.
Subsequently, facility verification tests are underway to check the performance and safety of the railway facilities.
Approximately 1.2 kilometers of the entire Wirye Tram route is a pedestrian-mixed zone, and it shares routes with vehicles and pedestrians at 13 general road intersections.
Due to this, differences in interpretation among related agencies regarding whether to view the tram running sections as roads or railways and how to conduct traffic safety facility reviews led to delays in opening procedures, including the delay of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's traffic safety review.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government consulted with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to designate the tram operating sections in duplicate as both roads and railways, and received an interpretation from the Ministry of Government Legislation that the status of roads is maintained even in doubly designated sections, allowing for the installation of traffic safety facilities.
Following this, according to the conflict resolution results by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Transport Committee last month, it was settled to conduct the traffic facility safety inspection first and then proceed with the traffic safety review reflecting those results.
The traffic facility safety inspection is a procedure to investigate potential traffic accident risk factors before opening and prepare improvement measures.
Once the inspection is completed, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will conduct a traffic safety review focusing on sections where the tram tracks and the movement paths of pedestrians and vehicles intersect.
The city signed a contract with the Korea Road Traffic Authority on October 14 and initiated the safety inspection, with plans to complete it by March of next year.
Following this, the city plans to supplement necessary facilities based on the results of the traffic safety review, go through statutory procedures such as comprehensive railway test operations, and open the Wirye Line.
Accordingly, the initial target of opening in December of this year has become difficult.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to comprehensively review the scope of safety facility supplementation and the test operation period to announce a finalized opening schedule during the first half of next year.
To reduce opening delays, consultations with related agencies and administrative procedures will be conducted in parallel as much as possible.
The city plans to request the Metropolitan Transport Committee to form a task force involving the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and others, pre-coordinate issues from the safety inspection stage, and rapidly push forward procedures that can be conducted in parallel, such as traffic safety reviews and comprehensive test operations.
Lim Chun-geun, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Infrastructure Headquarters, said, "We apologize to citizens for the delay in opening caused by the process of securing safety and reorganizing laws and regulations due to the introduction of the nation's first tram. We will swiftly and thoroughly implement the remaining safety procedures to minimize the opening delay."
(Photo provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)
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