Next Year, 810 Billion Won Invested in 8 Railway Projects to "Revitalize Local Economy"

#.Baek, an office worker living in Suwon who commutes to Seoul by express bus, has found commuting much more convenient since the installation of the transfer stop at Sadang Station. After getting off the bus, it is now possible to directly transfer to the subway, and bus arrival and departure times are displayed inside the subway station, reducing the chances of missing the bus right in front of you. Moreover, the addition of wind and rain shelters has eased concerns even on days without an umbrella.

Next year, as part of the national balanced development project, regional-centered connectivity and infrastructure investments will be activated.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced next year’s work plan including these details.

The Ministry plans to accelerate eight railway projects by simultaneously commissioning basic and detailed designs for six projects including the Southern Inland Railway, Pyeongtaek~Osong, and Daegu Industrial Line. To facilitate these projects, the budget for the national balanced development project will be doubled from 400.7 billion won this year to 809.6 billion won next year. Additionally, the detailed design for Daejeon Urban Railway Line 2 will be promoted, and the electrification of the Donghae Line, which has already started construction, is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Construction is underway on seven national highway risk sections and two Southwest Coast tourist roads, and designs for three projects including Sejong~Cheongju Expressway are expected to be completed around October next year, ensuring smooth progress for a total of six road projects.

In January next year, the Yeongnam region trunk line (Dongdaegu~Yeongcheon~Taehwagang~Ilgwang) will begin full operation; in June, the Janghang Line (Sinseong~Jupo) will open; and in December, the second phase of the Busan Vehicle Depot construction will commence as scheduled. Furthermore, fourteen conventional railways including the under-construction Seohae Line (Hongseong~Songsan) and four high-speed railways such as KTX will be built on schedule, and new high-speed and conventional railway constructions reflected in the ‘4th Railway Network’ plan will also start early.

To establish the trunk road network (10×10+6R2), the Asan~Cheonan (20.6 km) expressway will open in December next year, and core projects from the ‘5th National and Local Road Plan’ will be commissioned around April. Preliminary feasibility studies for major expressway projects will be conducted, and plans for three-dimensional expansion will be devised for habitual congestion sections where horizontal expansion is difficult.

Small airports will be constructed on Ulleungdo, Heuksan, Baengnyeong, and Seosan. This is part of the ‘6th Airport Plan’ to guarantee transportation rights for island regions and protect territorial sovereignty. For Ulleung Airport, a 30% construction progress rate is targeted for next year. The Jeju 2nd Airport’s promotion direction will be reviewed in the second half of next year, considering aviation safety, facility capacity expansion needs, and environmental impacts comprehensively.

To build metropolitan transportation networks tailored to regional characteristics, criteria for designating metropolitan areas will be derived, and related laws will be revised in the first half of the year. The current designation standard for metropolitan railways, which is within 40 km of metropolitan centers, will also be improved by reflecting user perspectives such as travel time.

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