Although Direct Gangnam Connection Failed... Gimpo~Yeouido and Yongsan '20-Minute' Travel Becomes Possible

GTX-D Route Confirmed for Gimpo~Bucheon Section
Final Rejection of Residents' Demand for Direct Connection to Gangnam
However, Direct Connection to Yeouido Station and Yongsan Station
Travel Time Estimated at Around 20 Minutes
Improved Accessibility to Seoul City Center Expected

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The direct connection to Gangnam via the Seoul Metropolitan Area Express Train (GTX)-D, also known as the Western Metropolitan Express Train, has been finally canceled. Accordingly, the route will be newly established only from Gimpo Janggi Station to Bucheon Sports Complex Station as originally planned. However, the government has decided to pursue a plan to enable direct operation from Gimpo to central Seoul stations such as Sindorim Station, Yeouido Station, and Yongsan Station using the GTX-B line. In this case, it is expected that accessibility will improve as travel time will be 24 minutes to Yeouido Station and 28 minutes to Yongsan Station.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 29th, the Western Metropolitan Express Train will be newly established on the section from Gimpo Janggi Station to Bucheon Sports Complex Station (21.1 km). This is the same as the results of the Korea Transport Institute's study disclosed at the public hearing in April. Residents of the western area, including Gimpo and Incheon Geomdan, strongly demanded a direct connection to Gangnam, but it was not accepted.

However, the government announced an alternative plan to promote direct operation from Gimpo to central Seoul stations such as Yongsan Station using the GTX-B line. The purpose is to alleviate transportation inconveniences for residents in the western area. Currently, it takes 41 minutes to travel from Gimpo Janggi Station to Yeouido Station when using the Gimpo Gold Line (Janggi?Gimpo Airport) and the Line 9 express train (Gimpo Airport?Yeouido). However, if the Western Metropolitan Express Train is connected to the GTX-B line, travel will be possible within 24 minutes, reducing the time by about 17 minutes.

Currently, it takes 48 minutes to travel from Gimpo Janggi Station to Yongsan Station via the Gimpo Gold Line (Janggi?Gimpo Airport) for 22 minutes, Airport Railroad (Gimpo Airport?Hongdae Entrance Station) for 15 minutes, and Gyeongui-Jungang Line (Hongdae Entrance Station?Yongsan Station) for 11 minutes, but this will also be reduced to 28 minutes once the Western Metropolitan Express Train is newly established.

Travel time from Gimpo Janggi Station to Seoul Sinnonhyeon Station will be shortened by about 17 minutes from the current 56 minutes to 39 minutes. From Gimpo Geolpobukbyeon Station to Seoul Bongeunsa and Samseong Stations currently takes about 54 minutes, but it is expected to be reduced to 29 minutes in the future. This calculation by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is based solely on pure train travel time without considering transfer times.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also consider extending Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo. Although this was not reflected in the public hearing plan in April, it was additionally included considering the continuous requests from residents of Gimpo and others and the necessity. The ongoing projects to extend Incheon Line 1 to Geomdan (Gyeyang Station?Geomdan New Town) and Incheon Line 2 to Geomdan (Wanjeong Station?Geomdan New Town) will also be expedited.

In addition, after the extension of Incheon Line 2 to Geomdan, a new line will be established passing through Gimpo (Geolpobukbyeon Station) to Goyang KINTEX Station and others. Once this line opens, transfers to GTX-A will be possible at KINTEX Station, improving travel convenience from Gimpo to the Gangnam area. High-speed vehicles capable of speeds over 150 km/h will be introduced on the Incheon Airport Railroad. Once express service is completed, travel time from Gyeyang Station near Geomdan New Town to Seoul Station will be reduced by about 5 minutes.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is also accelerating the additional deployment of Gimpo Gold Line trains to reduce opposition from Gimpo residents. In May, a contract was completed with Hyundai Rotem for the additional production of 5 train sets (10 cars), which are scheduled to be put into commercial operation starting November 2024.

The introduction of BTX (Bus Transit eXpress) using movable central dividers will also be promoted. First, consultations with related organizations including Seoul City will begin to promote the first phase of the Western BTX project on a section of Olympic-daero (Haengju Bridge?Dangsan Station), and later, expansion to the second phase (Hangang Cinepolis IC?Haengju Bridge) will be considered.

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