Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo~Homaesil Passes Preliminary Feasibility Study... Suwon~Gangnam in 47 Minutes

▲ Planned route map of the Shinbundang Line. This is the route (proposal) reviewed during the preliminary feasibility study stage (Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo to Homaesil), and the specific route and stations will be decided through future basic planning and detailed design. (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The extension of the Shinbundang Line, which allows travel from Homaesil in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province to Gangnam Station in Seoul in 47 minutes, will begin construction in 2023.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 15th that the Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo~Homaesil route project passed the preliminary feasibility study and the project promotion was confirmed. The economic feasibility analysis (B/C) was 0.83, and the comprehensive evaluation (AHP) was 0.518. A project is considered feasible if the B/C exceeds 1.0 or the AHP is 0.5 or higher.

This project involves constructing 4 new stations along the 9.7 km section from Gwanggyo to Homaesil in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province. A total of 888.1 billion KRW will be invested. It will be directly connected to the currently operating Gangnam Station~Gwanggyo Station line at Gwanggyo Jungang Station, and upon completion, it is expected to take 47 minutes from Homaesil to Gangnam Station. Considering that it currently takes about 100 minutes by bus during commuting hours, travel time will be reduced by half.

The Gwanggyo~Homaesil extension project had been delayed due to lack of economic feasibility and other reasons. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has continuously promoted the project, considering that the extension was already included in the metropolitan transportation improvement plan for the Gwanggyo and Homaesil district housing development projects and that 499.3 billion KRW in contributions had already been secured.

From November 2017 to December last year, the Ministry improved the project's feasibility through a re-planning service and led improvements to the preliminary feasibility study system so that projects with secured contributions are separately considered during policy evaluations.

The Ministry plans to immediately proceed with subsequent procedures as residents have waited a long time and to shorten the project period as much as possible. If smoothly promoted, construction could begin as early as 2023.

Hwang Seong-gyu, Director of the Railway Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The Gwanggyo~Homaesil project, which had been delayed for a long time, was confirmed for promotion for the first time after the announcement of ‘Metropolitan Transportation 2030’," adding, "We expect other ‘Metropolitan Transportation 2030’ projects to gain momentum as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.