Changwon·Busan Chamber of Commerce Proposes Support for 'Double-Track Electric Train between Bujeon and Masan'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] The Changwon and Busan Chambers of Commerce and Industry announced on the 16th that they have requested national government funding support for the ‘Bujeon~Masan double-track electric train’ from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance to improve transportation convenience for local residents facing insufficient local finances and poor transportation conditions.

This project involves operating a double-track railway spanning 9 stations between Bujeon Station in Busan and Masan Station in Changwon, covering a total distance of 50.3 km, and is scheduled to open in the first half of next year.

With the opening of the double-track railway, the distance between Bujeon Station and Masan Station will be reduced from 87 km to 50 km, and the travel time will be shortened from 1 hour 33 minutes to 38 minutes.

Through the petition, the Changwon and Busan Chambers of Commerce and Industry expressed great expectations that the opening of the Bujeon~Masan double-track railway will significantly promote human and logistics exchanges between regions.

However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to introduce a semi-high-speed train (EMU-250) instead of the electric train (EMU-180) originally planned during the feasibility study phase, raising concerns that the efficiency of the line’s opening will greatly decline due to increased intervals between trains and higher fares.

They also pointed out that despite the government’s national balanced development policy, the metropolitan area black hole phenomenon?where more than 50% of the population is concentrated in the metropolitan area, which accounts for only 11.8% of the national land area?is worsening, and emphasized the need to establish an economic community in the southeastern region for national balanced development.

Accordingly, the Changwon and Busan Chambers of Commerce and Industry proposed that, just as the metropolitan area grew through a wide-area transportation network, the southeastern economic community should be realized through the operation of electric trains connecting the Bujeon~Masan double-track railway and the Donghae Nambu Line.

Han Cheol-su, chairman of the Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed, “For national balanced development, establishing development directions that align with the characteristics and capabilities of each region is most important,” adding, “Prior to this, expanding the wide-area transportation network outside the metropolitan area must become one of the government policy’s core prerequisites to grow alongside the metropolitan area.”

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