Daegu City to Establish Kyungpook National University Bridge Station on EXCO Line... Renamed as Urban Railway Line 4

Daegu Urban Railway’s ‘EXCO Line’ is expected to be renamed as Urban Railway Line 4.

On the 9th, Daegu City announced that it is changing the name of the EXCO Line to Urban Railway Line 4 and is considering the establishment of a new station called ‘Kyungdae-gyo Station’.

From the 27th of last month to the 2nd of this month, Daegu City held public hearings and resident briefings related to the EXCO Line to gather opinions from experts and citizens and review change plans. The EXCO Line is a project that passed the preliminary feasibility study in December 2020, and in May 2021, the basic plan establishment service was initiated. Currently, it is undergoing a process of collecting residents’ opinions.

Daegu City decided to rename the line from the EXCO Line to Urban Railway Line 4. The name ‘EXCO Line’ was a temporary name given during the project promotion process. As the project approval and announcement by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are approaching, and since the urban rail lines have been referred to as Lines 1, 2, and 3 in order of construction, the official name will be unified as ‘Urban Railway Line 4’.

Also, considering safety and maintenance efficiency, the vehicle type was decided to be steel-wheeled AGT. Initially, it was planned as a monorail, the same as Urban Railway Line 3, but in July, Hitachi, the monorail supplier, informed that complying with current domestic laws and profitability issues were difficult, leading to the change.

From a cost perspective as well, steel-wheeled AGT is evaluated to be superior to monorail. The total project cost is 780.5 billion KRW for AGT and 756 billion KRW for monorail, so AGT is somewhat higher, but the 40-year maintenance cost for monorail is known to be nearly twice that of AGT. Therefore, introducing steel-wheeled AGT is expected to save about 113.1 billion KRW compared to monorail.

Exco Line Map.

Daegu City is also reviewing the establishment of Kyungdae North Gate Station, requested by residents, in addition to the newly established Gonggonegeori Station, and plans to adjust the locations of Kyungdae-gyo Station and EXCO Station. The vehicle depot is currently planned on farmland in Bullo-dong, but the city will actively collect residents’ opinions and further review whether there are alternative locations.

A Daegu City official said, “Not only Urban Railway Line 4, but Lines 5 and 6 are also being planned. Urban Railway Line 5 (the Greater Daegu Circular Line) will pass through major Daegu hubs such as Seodaegu Station, Duryu Park, former military sites, K-2 former site, and Sangeok Distribution Complex.”

In addition, the Suseong South Line, a campaign pledge of Mayor Hong Jun-pyo of Daegu, will also be promoted as Urban Railway Line 6. Lines 5 and 6 aim to establish an urban railway network plan by 2025 and obtain approval for the urban railway network plan in 2026.

Mayor Hong Jun-pyo said, “Urban railways are a major project that must be pursued with a view to Daegu’s next 50 years, and Urban Railway Line 4 is a key line for balanced development of Daegu’s southeast and north. We will reflect citizens’ demands as much as possible through this public hearing, resident briefings, and the media, and prepare the final plan as soon as possible.”

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