Incheon City Applies for Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Approval of 'Rail Network Construction Plan Change'... Incheon Line 2 Extension to Geomdan as Top Priority

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Incheon Urban Railway Network Construction Plan Amendment (Red Line) Route Map [Provided by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City has finalized a revised urban railway network construction plan, which includes eight lines such as the Bupyeong Yeonan Port Line, and has applied for approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The urban railway network construction plan is a statutory plan that reviews the feasibility of construction projects every five years according to the Urban Railway Act.

This revision was decided based on the existing plan established in 2016, after gathering opinions from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the city council, 10 districts and counties, experts, and citizens, while considering changes in railway transportation demand.

The main points include increasing the total number of lines from six to eight, while reducing the total length by 1.12 km to 87.79 km. The total project cost was planned at 2.862 trillion KRW, a decrease of 1.4754 trillion KRW.

In the revision, the city re-planned the economically less viable Incheon Southern Circular Line into the Juan-Songdo Line (Incheon National University Station?Songdo Station?Juan Station) and the extension of Incheon Line 2 in Nonhyeon (Namdong-gu Office Station?Seochang 1·2 District?Dorim District?Incheon Nonhyeon Station) to improve project feasibility, and also strengthened accessibility to GTX Line B (Incheon National University Station) and KTX departing from Incheon (Songdo).

The Songdo Tram plan was changed from phased construction to simultaneous construction of the entire section, and the first phase of the Yeongjong Tram (Yeongjong Sky City?Unseo Station?Airport New City) excluded some existing sections (Airport New City?Terminal 2) considering the runway safety of Incheon International Airport.

Additionally, three new lines were incorporated: the Bupyeong Yeonan Port Line connecting Bupyeong Station?Camp Market?Gajwa Station?Songnim-dong?Incheon Station?Yeonan Port, the extension of Incheon Line 1 to Songdo 8 District, and the Jemulpo Yeonan Port Line (Jemulpo Station?Sungui Station?Yeonan Port).

In particular, the Bupyeong Yeonan Port Line was elevated one rank in investment priority to second place, aiming to play a leading role in the 'urban regeneration to strengthen the competitiveness of the old downtown,' a key policy of the 7th elected administration.

The priority investment order for the eight lines set by the city is: extension of Incheon Line 2 to Geomdan, Bupyeong Yeonan Port Line, Songdo Tram, extension of Incheon Line 2 in Nonhyeon, Juan-Songdo Line, first phase of Yeongjong Tram, extension of Incheon Line 1 to Songdo 8 District, and Jemulpo Yeonan Port Line.

Candidate lines for future consideration depending on changing conditions include four lines: extension of Incheon Line 1 to the International Passenger Terminal, Dongincheon Cheongna Line, the entire Yeongjong Tram line, and maglev railway expansion.

The revision will be approved and announced after appropriateness review by specialized research institutions such as the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, consultations with related administrative agencies, and deliberation by the National Transportation Committee.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We have prepared the revision plan to increase the feasibility of urban railway construction projects and maximize transportation convenience for citizens."

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