SOUTH KOREA: A groundbreaking ceremony for the Shinansan suburban railway was held on September 9 at Ansan City Hall, southwest of Seoul.
The 44·7 km route with 15 stations will link Hanyang University in Ansan to Yeouido in central Seoul, where interchange will be provided with Seoul metro lines 5 and 9. The line will be built a depth of 40 m underground, within a budget of 3·34tr won.
Opening is planned for 2024. An operational speed of 110 km/h will give an end-to-end journey time of 25 min, compared with the 100 min such a journey currently takes by road. Ridership is forecast at 173 000 passengers a day.
