Donghae Line 'Samcheok~Gangneung High-Speed Railway' Selected for Preliminary Feasibility Study

First Preliminary Feasibility Study Selected for Four New Projects in Gangwon-do under the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan

Photo materials [Gangwon-do]

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] The Donghae Line 'Samcheok~Gangneung High-Speed Railway' project has been selected as a target project for the government's preliminary feasibility study.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance held a Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee meeting and selected the 'Samcheok~Gangneung High-Speed Railway Project,' submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last month, as the 4th preliminary feasibility study target project of this year.

The Gangwon region projects reflected in the 4th National Railway Network Plan include four lines: the Samcheok~Gangneung Donghae Line, the Yongmun~Hongcheon Railway, the Samcheok Beach~Donghae Port Donghae New Port Line, and the Wonju~Manjong Wonju Connection Line.

As a result, the project, which had been uncertain due to a lack of economic feasibility, has gained momentum.

The Samcheok~Gangneung high-speed electrification project, worth 1.2744 trillion won, is part of the line connecting Busan and Goseong. Once the Gangneung~Goseong Jejin section of the Donghae Northern Line opens in 2027, travel between Busan and Goseong will take about 2 hours and 50 minutes.

It secures connectivity with high-speed projects such as Gangneung~Jejin, Pohang~Samcheok, Gangneung Line KTX, and Chuncheon~Sokcho, and is a key railway network to establish the foundation for the Donghae Line railway high-speed electrification, a core transportation network of the East Sea Economic Belt.

However, among all sections of the Donghae Line, while other sections are undergoing high-speed projects, only the Samcheok~Gangneung section is an old section with poor alignment (speed of 30~40 km/h), effectively classifying Samcheok~Gangneung as a discontinuous section of the Donghae Line high-speed project.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been conducting a one-year preliminary feasibility study for Samcheok~Gangneung since December last year in preparation for the preliminary feasibility study, and plans to submit the economic feasibility data to KDI, which will conduct the preliminary feasibility study.

Gangwon Province plans to persuade the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and political circles to pass the preliminary feasibility review and to promote the project early next year, including the establishment of a basic plan, citing the necessity of regional balanced development and the construction of a national institution railway network in the East Sea region as a core project.

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