Incheon City to Submit Proposal for Gyeongin Line Undergrounding Pilot Project to Ministry of Land on 25th

Incheon City will submit the 'Gyeongin Line Underground Leading Project Proposal' to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 25th.

In June, the Ministry announced plans to select a leading project to prioritize the underground conversion of nationwide above-ground railways. Incheon City prepared a proposal accordingly, and if selected as a leading project, it plans to establish a detailed commercialization plan next year.

This proposal includes a plan to underground the 22.63km section of the Gyeongin Line from Incheon Station to Onsu Station, to be jointly promoted with Gyeonggi Province. The Incheon section covers 14km from Incheon Station to Bugae Station. The total project cost is estimated at 6.6 trillion KRW, with 3.4 trillion KRW required for railway undergrounding and 3.2 trillion KRW for development of the upper land.

Gyeongin Line Underground Project Route Map [Provided by Incheon City]

This month, presentations and evaluations on the 'Railway Undergrounding and Upper Land Development Project Concept' will be conducted for the Ministry and researchers, and in December, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will proceed with the leading project selection process.

If selected as a leading project, Incheon City will establish the basic plan for the Gyeongin Line undergrounding project starting January next year. Subsequently, the undergrounding construction will be carried out from 2028 to 2037, and the upper land development will be promoted from 2030 to 2042.

The Gyeongin Line, based on the Gyeongin Railway?the first railway in Korea opened in 1899?has expanded into a quadruple-track double-track line and has become a major transportation infrastructure in the metropolitan area. However, due to the above-ground tracks, the urban living area is divided and land use efficiency is reduced, leading to ongoing demands for undergrounding.

The city expects the Gyeongin Line undergrounding project to create synergy with the 'Jemulpo Renaissance,' a revitalization project for Incheon’s original downtown area. In particular, part of the above-ground space will be utilized for various purposes such as residential facilities for newlyweds to stabilize housing and address low birthrate issues, parks, and commercial facilities.

An official from Incheon City stated, "The Gyeongin Line undergrounding will be an important opportunity to innovatively reorganize the spatial structure of the western metropolitan area and foster growth into a unified economic zone."

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