SOUTH KOREA: Seoul Metro has been selected as operator for Line A of the capital’s Great Train Express commuter rail network, ahead of the opening of the first section on March 30.
When complete, the 82 km line with 11 stations will link Unjeong in the northwestern suburb of Paju with Dongtan in the southeast of the Seoul conurbation. The line is scheduled to open in stages, with the initial 28 km section running between Suseo and Dongtan.
Korail will provide maintenance services for Line A, the national operator confirmed to Metro Report International on March 26. The infrastructure will be owned by private company SG Rail, which is acting as project developer on behalf of infrastructure manager Korea National Railway as the ultimate promoter.
Line A is being built and equipped by 40 contractor companies including HJ Shipbuilding & Construction. It will run entirely in tunnel, with the alignment being up to 40 m below ground level at the deepest points.
Hyundai Rotem is supplying 20 eight-car trainsets to operate on Line A. GTX trains will operate at up to 180 km/h, offering end-to-end commercial speeds of around 100 km/h.
Construction of GTX Line C started on January 25 and works on Line B is planned to begin later this year.
