SOUTH KOREA: Construction of Line C of the Great Train Express commuter rail network in Seoul started on January 25 with a groundbreaking ceremony at Uijeongbu attended by President Yoon Seok-yeol.
The 86·5 km Line C will link Suwon in the south with Uijeongbu and Deokjeong in the north. It is to have 14 stations and a maximum operating speed of 180 km/h. Interchange would be provided at Samseong station to GTX Line A, which is now under construction, and at Cheongnyangni to the planned Line B.
The journey time between Uijeongbu and Samseong is expected to decrease from the current 1 h to 20 min. Opening is planned for 2028.
‘This will be the first year of the GTX era’, said President Yoon Seok-yeol at the groundbreaking ceremony. The initial Suseo – Dongtan section of Line A is due to open in March, and construction of Line B between Incheon and Namyangju is planned to begin later this year. The Paju – Seoul Station section of Line A will open at the end of the year, the President said.
‘There have been several times when the project has come to a halt, but in order to keep my promise, I personally took care of resolving the issues’, Yoon Seok-yeol said.
