Nonstop Bus 'BTX' to Run on Olympic-daero and Gangbyeonbuk-ro

Confirmed 4th Metropolitan Area Wide Transportation Implementation Plan
Expansion of BTX Using Mobile Central Dividers
Faster Without Congestion... Reduced Commute Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] A new concept bus transit service called ‘BTX (Bus Transit eXpress)’ that runs quickly without congestion on Seoul Olympic-daero and Gangbyeonbuk-ro will be introduced.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Committee announced on the 6th that it has finalized the ‘4th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan (2021?2025)’ after deliberation by the committee.

The government included its intention to massively expand wide-area transportation infrastructure such as the Great Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX) and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in this plan. To this end, the government plans to invest about 7.1 trillion KRW in wide-area transportation facility projects by 2025, which is approximately 3.3 trillion KRW more than the 3rd implementation plan.

Among the wide-area transportation infrastructure expansions, the BTX to be installed on Olympic-daero (West BTX) and Gangbyeonbuk-ro (East BTX) draws attention. BTX operates by flexibly adjusting lanes according to commuting traffic conditions using movable central dividers.

By adjusting lanes to create high-speed exclusive bus lanes, buses can run quickly without congestion, significantly reducing commuting times. It features punctuality and large-capacity transport capabilities similar to railways. For Olympic-daero, it will be introduced on the Hangju-daero to Dangsan Station section, and for Gangbyeonbuk-ro, on the Suseok IC to Gangbyeon Station section.

Other new metropolitan wide-area BRT projects in the Seoul metropolitan area include Seongnam?Bokjeong Station BRT (Bokjeong Station?Namhansanseong Entrance), Cheongnyangni?Donong?Pyeongnae Hopyeong Wide-area BRT (Cheongnyangni?Pyeongnae Hopyeong Station), and Gyeyang?Daejang Wide-area BRT (Gyeyang?Bucheon Sports Complex Station, Bakchon Station?Gimpo Airport Station).

Metropolitan wide-area railway projects include the Daejang Hongdae Line (Bucheon Daejang?Hongdae Entrance), Wirye Gwacheon Line (Bokjeong?Government Gwacheon Office), Shinguro Line (Siheung Daeya?Mokdong), 2nd Gyeongin Line (Cheonghak?Noeunsa), Byeollae Line extension (Byeollae Station?Byeollaram Station), Gangdong Hanam Namyangju Line (Gangdong?Hanam?Namyangju), and Incheon Line 2 extension (Incheon Seo-gu?Goyang Ilsan Seo-gu).

Also confirmed are the Goyang Eunpyeong Line (Saejeol?Goyang City Hall), Western Area Metropolitan Express Railway (Janggi?Bucheon Sports Complex), Songpa Hanam Line (Ogeum?Hanam City Hall), Wirye Samdong Line (Wirye?Samdong), Bundang Line (Wangsimni?Cheongnyangni), Bundang Line extension (Giheung?Osan), Ilsan Line extension (Daehwa?Geumnung), and Shinbundang Line (Homaesil?Bongdam).

Extensions of Incheon Line 2 to Anyang, Seoul Line 6 to Guri Namyangju, Seoul Line 2 to Cheongna, Byeollae Line to Uijeongbu, and Seoul Line 5 to Gimpo Geomdan have been designated as additional review projects. To alleviate traffic congestion in the western area, the Geomdan?Daegok (Daegok-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon City?Masan-dong, Gimpo City) wide-area road route has also been finalized. Eleven new transfer centers will be newly constructed in the metropolitan area, including Cheongnyangni Station Transfer Center and Seoul Station Transfer Center.

In the Busan and Ulsan areas, the Busan Mium?Garak wide-area road is being promoted. The Busan?Yangsan?Ulsan wide-area railway (Busan Nopo?KTX Ulsan Station) and the Southeast Region Circular Wide-area Railway (Jinyeong?Ulsan Station) are also included in the plan. In the Daegu area, the Daegu Ansim?Gyeongsan Imdang section wide-area road and the Daegu Line 1 Yeongcheon extension (Gyeongsan Hayang Station?Yeongcheon City) wide-area railway are being promoted.

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