SOUTH KOREA: A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for the 20 km 18-station second phase of the circular Gwangju metro Line 2.
Attendees at the ceremony held at the Children’s Transportation Park on December 13 included Mayor of the city Kang Ki-jeong.
The 41·8 km Line 2 is being built in three stages. The first section covers the southernmost 17 km of the ring, where work has been underway since 2019 for opening in 2026. The 20 stations will include two interchanges with Line 1.
The second section will form a northern loop between Yunnan and Gwangju’s principal railway station. This is planned to open in 2029.
A third stage would add a 4·8 km six-station branch off the ring to serve suburbs in the southeast of the city.
‘Gwangju is aiming to achieve a 50% modal share of public transport with the completion of Line 2’, Ki-jeong said at the ceremony. ‘We will overcome the stigma of being the city with the highest increase in private cars and the city with the highest greenhouse gas emissions from cars in South Korea.’
