Direct Management of Gimpo Gold Line Deferred... Rejection of Railroad Corporation Establishment Proposal

The plan for direct management of the Gimpo Urban Railway (Gimpo Gold Line), which was being promoted by Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province, has been put on hold.

Gimpo Gold Line bustling with many passengers
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 1st, Gimpo City announced that the proposal to establish the Gimpo Urban Railway Corporation was rejected at the corporation establishment review committee. The city held the review committee to transition the Gimpo Gold Line, currently operated under consignment by Seoul Transportation Corporation, to a direct management system after establishing the railway corporation, but the committee members?including city council members, public officials, and private experts?expressed negative opinions.

They anticipated that once the Seoul Subway Line 5 and Incheon Line 2 extensions to Gimpo, as well as the Western Metropolitan Express Railway, open, the demand and fare revenue for the Gimpo Gold Line would decrease. They judged that "it would be preferable to reconsider the establishment of the corporation after development projects such as the Hangang Second Housing Development District (Compact City) and additional railway line construction and operation plans are finalized."

However, they advised that efforts such as increasing the number of trains and expanding alternative transportation means are necessary to alleviate congestion on the Gimpo Gold Line.

Seo Seung-su, head of the Railway Division of Gimpo City, explained, "We promoted the establishment of the corporation to prepare an efficient operation plan before the end of the private consignment in September 2024," but added, "We respect the experts' opinions that a cautious approach is necessary."

He added, "We will thoroughly review improvement measures that can address the problems of the existing consignment operation so that citizens can use the railway conveniently and comfortably."

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