Three Intermediate Stations Added to the Gyongbu Express-Railway

New construction of three more intermediate stations is planned for the Gyongbu express-railway, which connects Seoul and Busan. The new stations will be located at O-song in Chungcheung buk-do province, Gimcheon and Gumi in Gyeongsang buk-do, and Ulsan.

These areas have been designated as zones permitting real estate development, and the construction is being strictly regulated.

The MOCT (Ministry of Construction and Transportation) decided to build the intermediate stations at three out of six candidate locations, which included Goyang in Gyonggi-do, Gimcheon and Gumi in Gyongsang buk-do, O-song in Chungcheung buk-do, Ulsan, Busan, and Bujeon. MOCT announced on November 14 that this decision is part of the general planning changes made to improve the Gyongbu express-railway.

Of the remaining three regions, Pyongtaek will be re-examined as a possible intermediate station following the relocation of Yongsan Garrison, the U.S. base in Seoul, and the decision of the International Peace City Development and Planning.

On the other hand, in the case of Goyang, facilities allowing passengers to board and get off the train have been established. Since Busan and Bujeon are only 6 km away from the Busan station and new station construction is expected to be costly, these locations have been excluded as candidates.

As a result, there will be a total of 11 stations on the Gyongbu express-railway, including Seoul, Yongsan, Gwang-myung, Cheonan, Asan, Daejun, Dongdae-gu, Shinkyung-ju, Busan and others.

In the meanwhile, concerns are being raised that the decision to make changes in the express-railway might slow down the route, because it takes about seven minutes for the train to stop at each station. If the express train travels from Seoul to Busan without stopping at intermediate stations, it takes about 1 hour and 56 minutes. However, the duration of the ride will be increased to 2 hours and 30 minutes if the train stops at all of the intermediate stations.

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com