Railway Corporation Enables 'Single Living Zone' Connecting Seoul Metropolitan Area and Central Inland High-Speed Rail

The high-speed train 'KTX-Eum' is running over the Jangcheon Overpass on the Jungbu Naeryuk Line. Photo by Korea Rail Network Authority

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The connection of high-speed railways will enable the formation of a "single living zone" between the metropolitan area and the central inland region.

The Korea Rail Network Authority announced on the 30th that it held an opening ceremony for the construction project of the Jungbu Inland Line between Icheon and Chungju. This section is part (54 km) of the "Icheon?Chungju?Mungyeong (93 km)" line connecting the metropolitan area and the central inland region, and trains will officially operate from the 31st.

The Icheon?Chungju section will be operated by the distributed power high-speed train KTX-Eum. Through this, the metropolitan area and the Chungbuk region are expected to be linked as a single living zone with travel possible within 30 minutes, according to the Rail Network Authority.

In particular, about 50% of this section was constructed with bridges and tunnels to allow high-speed train operation, minimizing sharply curved tracks.

Additionally, the Rail Network Authority emphasized that advanced state-of-the-art railway systems, such as automatic train protection devices and 4th generation wireless communication networks, were applied to ensure both fast operation speeds and train operation safety.

Three new stations were also established on the Icheon?Chungju section: Ganam Station, Gamgok Janghowon Station, and Angseong Oncheon Station. Above all, each station building was designed to resemble local representative symbols, allowing the railway stations themselves to serve as regional landmarks.

For example, Ganam Station reflects "pure white porcelain," Gamgok Janghowon Station represents the "flow of Cheongmi Stream," and Angseong Oncheon Station features a "structure arrangement symbolizing hot springs," each expressing their unique characteristics.

The Rail Network Authority plans to open the Chungju?Mungyeong line in 2023 following the Icheon?Chungju section. Furthermore, once the Suseo?Gwangju, Mungyeong?Gimcheon, and Southern Inland Railway (Gimcheon?Geoje) projects are sequentially completed, the central inland region will be connected northward to Gangnam (Suseo) and southward to Geoje, becoming a key hub in domestic railway transportation.

Meanwhile, the Icheon?Chungju section project began in 2005 and was completed after 16 years, with a total budget of 1.2143 trillion won invested in the project.

Kim Han-young, Director of the Korea Rail Network Authority, said, "With the opening of the Icheon?Chungju section, the metropolitan area and the central inland region will form a single living zone connected by high-speed rail. The Rail Network Authority will continue to steadily promote remaining railway projects such as the Chungju?Mungyeong line to expand railway benefits and contribute to national balanced development."

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