Jinju Passes Deliberation by Southern Inland Railway Project Financial Evaluation Committee

"Celebrating the Conclusion of the 50-Year-Long Southern Inland Railway Project"

The city of Jinju, Gyeongnam, announced on the 10th that it will make every effort to ensure the prompt implementation of the Southern Inland Railway project, following the approval of the ‘Reassessment of the Appropriateness of the Southern Inland Railway Project Plan’ by the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Fiscal Evaluation Committee.

With the confirmation of the Southern Inland Railway’s station and the passing of the project plan reassessment, which is part of a national balanced development project expected to drive the advancement of the underdeveloped western Gyeongnam region, local political and business circles, as well as residents, have all voiced their ‘welcome’ for the decision.

Route map of the Southern Inland Railroad construction project.

Since September last year, Jinju City has continuously requested Gyeongnam Province and the National Railroad Corporation to shorten the ‘project plan reassessment’ period, and in October, held meetings through a working-level council. In April of this year, the city visited the National Railroad Corporation to propose shortening the reassessment period and an early start to construction. As a result, the Ministry of Economy and Finance completed the ‘project plan reassessment’ in just nine months.

The ‘project plan reassessment’ included the addition of signal stations to increase train operation frequency, adjustment of bridge plans considering road and river plans, reinforcement of tunnel excavation safety, expansion of station building areas (Hapcheon, Jinju, Goseong, Tongyeong, Geoje), application of reinforcement methods to minimize environmental damage, and provision of railway facilities to address local environmental concerns and complaints. Consequently, the total basic project cost increased by approximately 1.7 trillion KRW, from 4.9438 trillion KRW to 6.6460 trillion KRW.

With the completion of the ‘project plan reassessment,’ the Korea Development Institute (KDI) stated that the National Railroad Corporation will continue with detailed design, conduct environmental impact assessments, disaster impact assessments, and consultations with relevant agencies?including local resident briefings?by the end of the year, aiming to complete the design in the first half of next year.

Mayor Cho Kyu-il stated, “To ensure the groundbreaking of the Southern Inland Railway, a project Jinju City has awaited for 50 years, by the end of next year, we will focus administrative efforts and closely cooperate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Gyeongsangnam-do, and the National Railroad Corporation to ensure the project proceeds without a hitch.”

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