Underground High-Speed Rail Dedicated Line to Be Built Between Susaek and Gwangmyeong... KTX Travel Time From Seoul to Gwangmyeong to Be Cut by 9 Minutes

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is moving forward in earnest with a project to build a 24.5-kilometer underground high-speed rail dedicated line between Susaek in Seoul and Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province.

As a result, the frequency of KTX operations is expected to increase significantly, and travel times for KTX trains between Seoul Station and Gwangmyeong Station will be shortened by about 9 minutes.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced today (August 18) that the basic plan for the Susaek-Gwangmyeong high-speed railway construction project will be finalized and officially notified on the 19th.

The project involves a total cost of 3.233 trillion won to construct an underground high-speed rail dedicated line along the Susaek-Seoul-Yongsan-Gwangmyeong section, with a target opening date in 2036.

Currently, the section between Seoul and Gwangmyeong shares tracks among KTX trains, conventional trains, commuter trains, and freight trains, which imposes constraints on reducing high-speed train travel times and increasing service frequency.

Once the Susaek-Gwangmyeong high-speed dedicated line opens, the operating routes of high-speed railways and conventional railways will be separated, reducing operational interference between trains and improving travel times as well as punctuality.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport estimates that the opening of the dedicated line will reduce KTX travel times by approximately 17 minutes and 30 seconds for the Haengshin-Gwangmyeong section and by 9 minutes and 15 seconds for the Seoul-Gwangmyeong section.

The track capacity for high-speed rail will also expand significantly.

The high-speed track capacity will be expanded to a level of 238 operations per day, accordingly increasing the number of KTX operations by 25% from the current 147 operations per day to 183 operations in the future.

Following the official notification of the basic plan, the Susaek-Gwangmyeong high-speed railway construction project will enter the design phase.

The design process is expected to take about two years.

Kim Tae-byung, Director General for Railway Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Once the Susaek-Gwangmyeong high-speed rail dedicated line is constructed, high-speed trains operating from Seoul and Yongsan will be able to run faster and more frequently," adding, "In connection with the Pyeongtaek-Osong high-speed railway capacity expansion project, we will ensure that the public can use high-speed rail even more conveniently."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.