Governor Kim Kyung-su's Metropolitan Rail Network Soon Realized... Changwon~Busan~Ulsan Connected by Electric Trains

Bujeon∼Masan Electric Train Route Map.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] The introduction of electric trains, one of the three core tasks of Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, is expected to be promoted as a national project.

On the 6th, Gyeongnam Province announced that it will begin constructing the Busan (Bujeon)?Changwon (Masan) electric train, a key infrastructure of the 'Southeast Mega City' initiative aimed at reducing the gap between the metropolitan area and non-metropolitan areas.

Until now, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance have been reluctant to include national funding for the introduction of the Bujeon?Masan electric train. As a result, the initial government budget proposal did not reflect the 25.5 billion KRW requested by the province at all. Later, during the National Assembly budget review process, recognizing the necessity of this project, 2 billion KRW was included in next year's government budget.

If this project proceeds, a metropolitan railway network connecting Changwon, Busan, and Ulsan will be established, allowing the provision of railway transportation services comparable to those in the metropolitan area, the province expected.

The Bujeon?Masan double-track railway, which began construction in June 2014, is a new national railway project worth 1.5766 trillion KRW that directly connects 9 stations over 50.3 km from Changwon to Gimhae to Busan. As of November, the construction progress rate stands at 98%.

Upon completion, the existing 87 km route from Changwon to Samrangjin to Yangsan to Busan, which bypasses the Gyeongbu Line on the Gyeongjeon Line, will be shortened to a direct 50.3 km connection from Changwon to Gimhae to Busan, reducing the distance by 37 km. Travel time will also be cut from the current 1 hour 33 minutes to 38 minutes, a reduction of 55 minutes.

Originally, this project planned to introduce electric trains (EMU-180) with a metropolitan railway function operating at 20-minute intervals. However, during the project implementation, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport changed the plan to introduce semi-high-speed trains (EMU-260) instead of electric trains.

If only semi-high-speed trains are introduced, the operation section will extend from the original Bujeon?Masan (50.3 km) to Bujeon?Suncheon (165 km), causing the operation interval to increase from 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. The number of daily trips will also be drastically reduced from 32 trips one way to 12 trips.

Anticipating inconvenience to passengers due to the delayed operation intervals and reduced number of trips, the province coordinated with Busan City to negotiate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to introduce electric trains alongside semi-high-speed trains.

As a result, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport agreed to introduce electric trains on the Bujeon?Masan line linked with the Donghae Nambu Line (Busan?Ulsan) alongside semi-high-speed trains from the perspective of national balanced development.

Park Jong-won, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs of the province, said, “With 8 million people living in the Southeast region, second only to the metropolitan area, the introduction of electric trains connecting Changwon, Busan, and Ulsan will link the Southeast region into a single living and economic zone, accelerating the establishment of the Southeast Mega City and greatly contributing to national balanced development.”

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