Seoul City Designates 'Seobu Urban Railroad' as Preferred Negotiation Partner for Seobu Line... 16.2 km from Saejeol Station in Eunpyeong-gu to Seoul National University Station in Gwanak-gu

Construction of 16 Stations and 1 Vehicle Depot
Execution Agreement Signed, Detailed Design, Various Impact Assessments, and Implementation Plan Approval Completed, Construction to Begin in 2023

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 31st that it has designated Seobu Urban Railway Co., Ltd. (tentative name) as the preferred negotiation partner for the ‘Seobu Line Urban Railway Private Investment Project.’ The representative of Seobu Urban Railway Co., Ltd. is Doosan Construction.

The ‘Seobu Line Urban Railway Private Investment Project’ is a railway project connecting Saejeol Station (Line 6) in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, Yeouido, and Seoul National University Station (Line 2) in Gwanak-gu. The project involves constructing a total length of 16.2 km, 16 stations, and one vehicle depot.

The project proposal evaluation was conducted from May 27 to 29 under the supervision of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements. The preferred negotiation partner was designated after evaluation by a committee of 18 experts across 16 fields including planning, architecture, demand, accounting, and operations. The project was first proposed by Doosan Construction in February 2017 and was recognized for private investment eligibility by the Public Investment Management Center of the Korea Development Institute in June 2020.

The Seobu Line is the fifth light rail project promoted by Seoul City following the Ui-Sinseol Line, Sillim Line, Dongbuk Line, and Wirye-Sinsa Line, aimed at resolving public transportation difficulties in the northwest and southwest regions of Seoul, which are vulnerable in terms of urban railway infrastructure. It is expected to serve as a major urban transportation axis connecting northwest and southwest Seoul, significantly contributing to regional development by reducing travel time and alleviating road traffic congestion.

Seoul City plans to form a negotiation team soon and begin negotiations with the preferred negotiation partner to conclude an implementation agreement. Once the agreement is signed, subsequent procedures such as detailed design, various impact assessments, and approval of the implementation plan will be promptly pursued, with construction scheduled to start in 2023.

Professor Kim Si-gon of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who chaired the evaluation committee, said, “The proposal submitted by the project proposer aligns with the city’s policy direction and was generally evaluated as excellent. We expect that the opinions presented by the evaluation committee will be reflected through the negotiation and detailed design processes, further developing the design content.”

Kim Jin-pal, Director of the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters, said, “To meet the expectations of local residents who hope for the early start of the Seobu Line, we will swiftly carry out the subsequent procedures and strive to advance the construction start date by even one day.”

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