Gunsan City and Korea Rail Network Authority Join Hands to Utilize Idle Railway Land

Reviving Urban Idle Railways as 'Green Spaces'

Gunsan City and the Korea Rail Network Authority have joined hands to fully launch the railway idle land utilization project based on mutual trust to ensure smooth progress.

On the 10th, the city announced that Kim Mi-jung, Deputy Mayor of Gunsan, and the head of the Honam Headquarters of the Korea Rail Network Authority attended a meeting at the city hall conference room to sign the 'Railway Idle Land Utilization Project Business Agreement.'

Through this agreement, they agreed to actively cooperate in the utilization project of idle land, transforming the long-neglected abandoned railway?which had drawn harsh criticism from citizens?into urban wind path forests, plazas, and playgrounds within residential areas.

On the 10th, Gunsan City and the Korea Rail Network Authority joined hands to actively promote the project for utilizing idle railway land. The photo shows an aerial view of the project section.
[Photo by Gunsan City]

The main contents of the agreement include ▲ necessary matters to smoothly promote the railway idle land development project ▲ cooperation related to the abandoned railway utilization project ▲ active cooperation between parties regarding implementation matters during maintenance and operation stages.

Additionally, the Korea Rail Network Authority will provide railway land necessary for the idle land utilization project and will continuously strive for the successful promotion of the project as a model case of win-win cooperation.

The urban railway forest creation project is a core project among the urban wind path forest projects implemented by the Forest Greenery Division. Utilizing the railway idle land, it plans to invest 16 billion KRW out of a total project cost of 20 billion KRW for an area of 5.7 hectares and a length of 2.6 km from Sajungsamgeori to the old Gunsan Cargo Station.

Along the railway forest, the old downtown and new downtown will be connected, creating a distinctive green space with walking trails, forests, and rest facilities, expanding leisure spaces and revitalizing the surrounding commercial districts, thereby boosting the local economy.

The city plans to supplement and finalize the design plan in the second half of this year by collecting opinions from experts and local residents, and aims to complete the wind path forest creation project by next year. In the future, it will be developed as a representative green space of Gunsan City in connection with surrounding tourism and cultural projects.

Also, the plaza and playground project to be created on the railway land next to the public market will invest approximately 1.55 billion KRW to create green and resting spaces for residents of nearby apartment complexes and visitors to the public market. The Jungang-dong urban regeneration project is completing various administrative procedures such as holding resident briefings and finalizing cost reviews, aiming for completion in December this year.

Kang Im-jun, Mayor of Gunsan City, said, "The project to create green spaces and plazas by utilizing idle railway tracks is very meaningful and will become a model case," adding, "With this agreement ceremony, we will spare no support for the implementation of the railway idle land project to create a healthy urban forest."

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