Establishment of Incheon Urban Rail Network Revision Plan... 8 Lines Including Bupyeong Yeonanbudu Line and Songdo Tram

Incheon Nambu Sunhwan Line Split into 'Incheon Line 2 Nonhyeon Extension' and 'Juan Songdo Line'
Public Hearing and City Council Opinion Hearing on the 13th, Approval Application to Ministry of Land in December

Map of 8 lines reflected in the Incheon Urban Railway Network Plan (2016~2025) [Provided by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City has prepared an urban railway network construction plan for a total of 8 lines (87.8 km), including Bupyeong Coastal Pier Line and Songdo Tram.

The city announced on the 6th that it has reviewed the feasibility of the 'Incheon Urban Railway Network Construction Plan (2016?2035)' approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2018 and established a revised mid-term plan (2016?2025) for a total of 8 lines including the Bupyeong Coastal Pier Line.

According to the 'Urban Railway Act,' urban railway construction plans by city/province are established every 10 years (if established every 20 years, a 10-year mid-term plan must be presented) and reviewed every 5 years to make changes if necessary.

This feasibility re-examination focused on re-planning projects such as the Incheon Southern Circular Line with low economic feasibility (B/C) by reflecting changed transportation conditions such as the Metropolitan Area Express Railway (GTX-B), building a connected network to maximize the benefits of GTX-B, and revitalizing the regeneration of the old downtown area.

The revised plan includes 8 lines: ▲Incheon Line 1 Geomdan Extension ▲Bupyeong Coastal Pier Line ▲Songdo Tram ▲Incheon Line 2 Nonhyeon Extension ▲Yeongjong Tram Phase 1 ▲Juan-Songdo Line ▲Incheon Line 1 Songdo 8 District Extension ▲Jemulpo Coastal Pier Line. These lines have a B/C (Benefit-Cost ratio: economically feasible if 1.0 or higher) ratio of 0.7 or higher or an AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process: economically feasible if 0.5 or higher) of 0.5 or higher.

Among the 6 lines included in the current urban railway construction plan, the 'Seoul Line 7 Cheongna International City Extension' was excluded as it has already been confirmed, and the 'Incheon Line 2 Geomdan Extension,' currently under preliminary feasibility study, was reflected as per the existing plan.

The economically less feasible (B/C 0.48) Incheon Southern Circular Line (29.38 km) was divided and revised into the 'Incheon Line 2 Nonhyeon Extension' and 'Juan-Songdo Line.'

Also, Yeongjong Internal Circular Line Phase 1 (14.8 km) was changed to 'Yeongjong Tram Phase 1 (10.95 km)' reflecting the request of Incheon International Airport Corporation due to difficulties passing under the runway, and Songdo Internal Circular Line Phase 1 (7.4 km) was changed to 'Songdo Tram (23.05 km)' with simultaneous construction of the entire section.

The 'Bupyeong Coastal Pier Line' is a tram connecting Bupyeong Station (Gyeongin Line, Incheon Line 1, GTX-B) ? Camp Market ? 3rd Supply Unit ? Gajwa Station (Incheon Line 2) ? Incheon Station (Gyeongin Line, Suin Line) ? Coastal Pier, supporting the revitalization of the old downtown area and linking with GTX-B.

The tram 'Juan-Songdo Line' connects Incheon National University Station (Incheon Line 1, GTX-B) ? Songdo Station (Suin Line, KTX) ? Juan Station (Gyeongin Line), and the 'Incheon Line 1 Songdo 8 District Extension' reflects only 1.46 km of the candidate route 'Incheon Line 1 International Passenger Terminal Extension' that meets the criteria.

The 'Jemulpo Coastal Pier Line' connects Jemulpo Station (Gyeongin Line) ? Sungui Station (Suin Line) ? Coastal Pier, aiming to improve accessibility to the coastal pier and promote tourism on Incheon’s islands.

In addition to the 8 lines, the city presented 4 candidate lines for priority review if future conditions change: ▲Incheon Line 1 International Passenger Terminal Extension ▲Dongincheon-Cheongna Line (Tram) ▲Yeongjong Tram Phase 2 ▲Yeongjong Maglev Expansion.

The city will open the revised urban railway network construction plan for public inspection and announcement until the 14th and hold a public hearing at 2:30 p.m. on the 13th at Songdo Convensia to gather citizens' opinions.

Since on-site participation is limited due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the public hearing will be broadcast live on Incheon City's official Facebook channel to collect opinions online as well.

The city plans to reflect citizens' voices submitted through the public inspection and hearing as much as possible, finalize the plan after hearing the city council's opinions, and apply for approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport around December this year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will review the appropriateness of the revised plan submitted by Incheon City through a professional research institute, consult with related ministries, and have it deliberated by the National Transportation Committee before approving and announcing it.

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