Gimpo City Submits Opinion Letter to Gyeonggi Province on Original GTX-D Plan and Line 5 Extension

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Gimpo City announced on the 24th that it has submitted a review opinion letter to Gyeonggi Province requesting the inclusion of 'GTX-D and Seoul Subway Line 5 Gimpo Extension (Gimpo Hangang Line)' proposed by Gyeonggi Province in the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan.

The opinion letter also included recommendations that the government actively invest to alleviate traffic congestion throughout the metropolitan area.

A petition signed by over 210,000 citizens and documents containing various citizen activities were also submitted along with the opinion letter. Gimpo City hopes that Gyeonggi Province will engage in consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Mayor Jeong Ha-young stated, "We plan to once again propose that the mayor and other elected officials meet directly with Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung before the collection of opinions from city and provincial governors on the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan, to initiate substantive discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as soon as possible."

Civil organizations from Gimpo and Incheon Geomdan plan to hold a rally and head-shaving ceremony in front of the Blue House on the 28th to urge the government for the direct connection of GTX-D to Gangnam and the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo.

The rally is expected to involve five civic groups including the Gimpo Geomdan Citizens' Transportation Coalition, with three representatives from these groups planning to shave their heads.

It is known that these organizations are discussing whether current and former elected officials from the Gimpo area will participate in the rally.

According to the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan announced by the Korea Transport Institute on the 22nd of last month, the GTX-D line is planned to connect only Gimpo Janggi to Bucheon Sports Complex.

This is a significant reduction compared to the route proposals from Gyeonggi Province and Incheon City, which hoped for the GTX-D line to be directly connected to Seoul Gangnam and Hanam, leading residents of the western region to call this route the 'Gimbu Line' and express opposition.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to finalize and announce the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan next month.

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