Complete Opening of Four Railways in the Southeast Region... First Metropolitan Electric Train Operation Outside the Capital Area

Opening of a total of 142.2 km from Dongdaegu to Yeongcheon
President Moon travels to Ulsan... attends opening and test ride events
Promoting 2-hour travel between Southeast region and Seoul metropolitan area
Busan to Ulsan, first metropolitan electric train outside the Seoul metropolitan area

President Moon Jae-in is speaking about the significance of the opening of the four railway construction projects in the southeastern region at the opening ceremony held on the 28th at Ulsan Taehwagang Station.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Four railway lines connecting Daegu, Yeongcheon, Gyeongju, Ulsan, and Busan in the southeastern region officially opened and began operation on the 28th. These lines are expected to serve as the foundation for a new high-speed train route connecting the southeastern region and the metropolitan area within two hours. In particular, the ‘Busan~Ulsan’ section, where the first metropolitan electric train line outside the metropolitan area was launched, will also play a key role in the transportation network of the ‘Bu-Ul-Gyeong (Busan·Ulsan·Gyeongnam) Megacity.’

President Moon Jae-in attended the ‘Opening and Test Ride of Four Southeastern Railway Projects’ event held at Ulsan Taehwagang Station on the same day to celebrate the opening of the first metropolitan electric train outside the metropolitan area. President Moon participated in the test ride of the metropolitan electric train between Ulsan Taehwagang and Busan Ilgwang along with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook and the metropolitan mayors of Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan.

The Blue House explained that President Moon’s attendance at this event was to support the national agenda project of the ‘Ultra-wide Cooperation Southeastern Megacity.’ Blue House Deputy Spokesperson Shin Hye-hyun said, "This will be an important opportunity to support the realization of regional balanced New Deal, Green New Deal, and Digital New Deal through railways."

According to the government, the sections opened on this day are double-track electrified railway lines of Dongdaegu~Yeongcheon (38.6 km), Yeongcheon~Singyeongju (20.4 km), Singyeongju~Taehwagang (46 km), and Taehwagang~Ilgwang (37.2 km), totaling 142.2 km in length. Including the Singyeongju~Pohang section (30.5 km) opened in 2015 and the Bujeon~Ilgwang section (28.5 km) opened in 2016, the southeastern railway line now totals 201.2 km in length.

Southeastern Region~Metropolitan Area and Gangwon Region Connected Within Two Hours

This line will serve as the terminus for a new high-speed train route connecting the southeastern region with the metropolitan and Gangwon regions in the future. Once the construction of the Jungang Line and Donghae Line, scheduled for full opening in 2024 and 2023 respectively, is completed, they will connect with the sections opened on this day. In this case, the current 6 hours and 31 minutes travel time on the Seoul (Cheongnyangni)~Busan (Bujeon) route by Mugunghwa train will be reduced to 2 hours and 50 minutes, and the currently non-existent Busan (Bujeon)~Gangneung route will be accessible within 2 hours and 34 minutes.

The line will deploy the ‘KTX-Eum,’ Korea’s first domestically developed distributed power high-speed train, which is the fourth of its kind worldwide. This train emits 15% of the carbon dioxide compared to passenger cars and 70% compared to diesel engine trains, and its power consumption is 79% of the existing KTX, making it a low-carbon and eco-friendly high-speed train.

First Metropolitan Electric Train Outside the Metropolitan Area on Busan-Ulsan Line

In particular, on the 65.7 km section connecting Busan and Ulsan, the first metropolitan electric train outside the metropolitan area began operating 100 times daily from this day. This will greatly improve commuting and school transportation convenience between major cities, as well as contribute to regional tourism, transportation, logistics, and economic revitalization.

The metropolitan electric train between Busan and Ulsan will serve as a core public transportation backbone for the ‘Bu-Ul-Gyeong Megacity.’ It marks the first operation of metropolitan electric trains outside the metropolitan area in 47 years since the first metropolitan railway opened in the metropolitan area on August 15, 1974, and opens an era where Busan (Ilgwang) and Ulsan (Taehwagang) can be reached within 30 minutes.

When the metropolitan railway sections from Busan to Yangsan to Ulsan and the Southeastern Circular Metropolitan Railway, which are included in the 4th National Railway Network Plan, are connected in the future, Bu-Ul-Gyeong will be linked as a one-hour living zone. Furthermore, with the opening of the Bujeon~Masan section in 2023 and the completion of Gadeokdo New Airport, which will serve as the passenger and logistics hub of the southeastern region, the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Megacity is expected to grow into a second metropolitan area, according to the government’s vision.

Additionally, the southern Donghae Line section ‘Bujeon~Taehwagang~Pohang’ will serve as a departure and arrival station for continental railways such as the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) and the Trans-Manchurian Railway (TMR), as well as the north-south railway upon completion of the East Sea axis in the future. Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook said, "With the opening of the southeastern railway network this time, we plan to steadily proceed with the completion of the main railway networks of the Jungang Line axis and Donghae Line axis."

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