The "Jeoncheol Section" Connecting Chungnam and Daejeon to Open in 2026

The railway section connecting Chungnam and Daejeon will begin construction with the goal of opening in 2026.

Chungnam Province announced on the 27th that it will start construction on the subgrade sector of the "Chungcheong Region Metropolitan Railway Phase 1 Construction Project." Phase 1 of the Chungcheong Region Metropolitan Railway is a project to establish a metropolitan railway network spanning a total length of 35.4 km, connecting Gyeryong in Chungnam to Sintanjin in Daejeon by utilizing the spare capacity of the Honam Line and Gyeongbu Line created by the opening of the Honam Line KTX.

The railway network is expected to be completed with a total project cost of 259.8 billion KRW. The railway will have 12 stations installed without laying new tracks. Six stations?Gyeryong, Heukseok-ri, Gasuwon, Seodaejeon, Hoedeok, and Sintanjin?will be renovated, and six stations?Doma, Munhwa, Yongdu, Jungchon, Ojeong, and Deokam?will be newly established.

The trains to be deployed on the section will be electric multiple units without locomotives, consisting of 2-car sets, with a total of 8 sets (including 1 reserve set). The number of operations was set at 65 one-way trips per day, anticipating a transportation demand of 27,259 passengers per day by the end of 2030. Trains will run every 12 minutes during peak commuting hours and every 20 minutes during other times.

The travel time between Gyeryong and Sintanjin is 35 minutes in both directions. Considering that the travel time between stations is around 3 minutes, the travel time from Gyeryong to downtown Daejeon (Seodaejeon) is expected to be about 15 minutes.

Chungnam Province expects that once Phase 1 of the Chungcheong Region Metropolitan Railway line opens, it will improve rail transportation convenience between southern Chungnam and Daejeon and reduce travel times.

It is also anticipated to support carbon neutrality practices in daily life through increased railway use and contribute to balanced regional development.

This railway network initially passed a preliminary feasibility study in 2015, went through a basic plan announcement in 2018, and completed basic and detailed designs in 2019.

However, the project was temporarily stalled last year due to a demand forecast reassessment by the Ministry of Economy and Finance but returned to the main track after passing the reassessment in April this year.

According to Chungnam Province, after the subgrade construction contract was awarded in October and the project implementation plan was approved and announced this month, actual construction began on the 27th.

Hong Sung-kwang, Director of the Construction and Transportation Bureau of Chungnam Province, said, "Phase 1 of the Chungcheong Region Metropolitan Railway will enhance accessibility between Chungnam and the Daejeon hub city and promote the efficient use of sustainable green transportation." He added, "Since the project was delayed due to the demand forecast reassessment, we will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Daejeon City to expedite construction and open the line on schedule."

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