Hamyang-gun and 6 Yeonghonam Cities and Provinces Jointly Appeal for Inclusion of Dalbit Inland Railroad

County Governor Seo Chunsu: "The National Railway Network Plan Must Be Reflected for Yeonghonam Harmony and National Balanced Development"

Joint Appeal from 6 Cities and Provinces for the Moonlight Inland Railroad
[Image Source=Hamyang-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Local government heads from the Yeongho region, connecting Daegu and Gwangju through the Yeongho-nam mutual growth railway network, gathered in one place to earnestly hope for the inclusion of the "Dalbit Inland Railway Construction" in the "National Railway Network Construction Plan."

On the 28th, Seochunsoo, the mayor of Hamyang County, along with six provincial governors from Yeongho-nam, issued a joint appeal for the new inclusion of the Dalbit Inland Railway construction project, which was excluded from the recently disclosed plan at the public hearing hosted by the Korea Transport Institute for the establishment of the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan, citing economic infeasibility.

The joint appeal, announced at the rotary square in front of Geochang County Office, was attended by Mayor Seo, along with Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju; Kwon Young-jin, Mayor of Daegu; Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province; Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeonbuk Province; Kang Sung-jo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province; Yoon Byung-tae, Political Deputy Governor of Jeonnam Province; Gu In-mo, Mayor of Geochang County; and civic groups.

The attendees emphasized in the joint appeal, "We earnestly appeal, gathering the sincere wishes of all cities and provinces, for the President to make a decisive decision to include the Dalbit Inland Railway construction project, an east-west integrated railway project, in the national plan."

Mayor Seo, who attended the joint appeal announcement ceremony, urged, "The Dalbit Inland Railway must be included as a new project in the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan for Yeongho-nam harmony and national balanced development, and as the central axis and link of Yeongho-nam, it will fulfill its role," calling for the new inclusion of the Dalbit Inland Railway.

The Dalbit Inland Railway project is a national project (with a budget of 5 trillion won) to build a high-speed railway running at 200-250 km/h over a 191 km section between Daegu and Gwangju, starting from its classification as a review target in the 2nd National Railway Network Construction Plan in 2011 and becoming a pledge of President Moon Jae-in in 2017 for Yeongho-nam mutual cooperation.

The project passes through 10 local governments including Gwangju, Damyang, Sunchang, Namwon, Jangsu, Hamyang, Geochang, Hapcheon, Goryeong, and Daegu, and is expected to generate production inducement effects of 7.2965 trillion won, employment inducement effects of 38,676 jobs, and added value inducement effects of 2.2834 trillion won.

Today's joint appeal announcement is seen as a small spark for the inclusion of the Dalbit Inland Railway construction project, connecting Daegu and Gwangju, a pledge project of the President and the heartfelt wish of all Yeongho-nam people, in the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan, which is currently at risk of being canceled.

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