10 Years of Incheon Subway Line 2… Momentum Gathering for Goyang Extension

[Anchor]

Incheon Subway Line 2, which connects the northwestern and southeastern parts of Incheon, has marked its 10th anniversary. Over the past 10 years, cumulative ridership has reached 550 million, establishing it as a representative light rail transit system in the metropolitan area. However, challenges such as route extension and fleet expansion remain to be addressed.

Reporter Song In-ho has the story.

[Reporter]

Since its opening in 2016, Incheon Subway Line 2 has established itself as a core urban railway in Incheon.

The cumulative number of passengers reached 557 million up to the first half of this year, showing a steady annual increase.

This is more than double the ridership figures compared to other regional light rail systems in the metropolitan area, such as the Uijeongbu Light Rail or the Gimpo Goldline.

With a total length of 29.1 kilometers and 27 stations running from Geomdan Oryu Station in Seo-gu to Unyeon Station in Namdong-gu, it has been evaluated as playing a major role in eliminating transportation-blind spots in Incheon.

[Park Chan-dae / Mayor of Incheon: We successfully transitioned from a manned operation system to a fully unmanned operation system for the first time among domestic urban railways, and proved our safety through the remarkable figure of a 99.9% on-time operation rate.]

The project to extend Incheon Subway Line 2 to Goyang, marking its 10th anniversary since opening, is also expected to gain full momentum.

The 19.63-kilometer route will connect Dokjeong Station on Incheon Line 2, Geolpo Bukbyeon Station on the Gimpo Goldline, Ilsan Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, and the Jungsan district, featuring 12 stations.

The Incheon Metropolitan City government plans to accelerate follow-up procedures such as establishing a basic plan as soon as the preliminary feasibility study concludes this year.

[Park Chan-dae / Mayor of Incheon: We will speed up the Goyang extension project of Incheon Line 2 to complete a multi-directional transportation network connecting the northwestern metropolitan area.]

In preparation for increased passenger volume on Incheon Line 2 due to the expansion of the Geomdan New Town and other developments, plans to expand the fleet by five two-car trains, totaling 10 cars, will also be swiftly pursued once the local government investment review is completed.

(Video taken by Lim Dong-guk, Graphics by Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.