Korea Rail Network Authority Awards Construction Contract for Gwangju~Suncheon Railway Project Worth 967.9 Billion KRW

The Korea Rail Network Authority announced on the 18th that it has issued a bid notice for the construction work of three sections of the Gwangju Songjeong~Suncheon railway project.

Basic Plan (Draft) Route Map for Gwangju Songjeong~Suncheon Railway Construction Project. Provided by Korea Rail Network Authority

The sections open for bidding are Sections 1, 3, and 4, with a bid scale of 967.9 billion KRW. Previously, the Rail Network Authority increased the project cost by 151.8 billion KRW to reflect price fluctuations after autonomous adjustment of the total project cost following the basic plan.

The project schedule includes selecting a qualified candidate for detailed design after the basic design in the first half of next year, completing the detailed design and commencing construction in the first half of 2025. The opening is targeted for 2030.

The Gwangju Songjeong~Suncheon railway project aims to electrify the only non-electrified section of the Gyeongjeon Line, establish an integrated electric railway transportation system, and expand the areas benefiting from high-speed services.

Of the total project section length of 121.5 km, 89.2 km will be newly constructed as single-track electrified railway, and the remaining 32.3 km will utilize existing lines, according to the Rail Network Authority’s plan. A total of 2.1366 trillion KRW is expected to be invested in this project.

Upon completion, the Rail Network Authority expects the travel time from Gwangju Station to Suncheon Station to be reduced by 100 minutes, from the current 152 minutes to 52 minutes, and the travel time from Gwangju Station to Bujeon Station to be shortened by 3 hours and 24 minutes, from the current 5 hours and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 21 minutes.

Kim Han-young, Director of the Rail Network Authority, said, “We will do our utmost to ensure safe and convenient railway construction by securing railway quality,” adding, “If this project is completed without any setbacks, travel time between the Honam and Yeongnam regions will be significantly reduced, promoting active human and material exchanges between regions, which is expected to revitalize the economies of the Yeongnam and Honam areas.”

Meanwhile, for the other construction sections (Sections 2 and 5), the basic and detailed design service contracts for the roadbed were issued in June, and the successful bidders have been selected. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-June.

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