Catching Two Rabbits... Opening the Way to Solve Pohang Station Parking Shortage

Pohang-si Selected for Korea Rail Network Authority's 'Railway Idle Land Utilization Project' Proposal Contest

Improving Transportation Environment and Attracting Tourists... Large-Scale Parking Lot with Over 1,100 Spaces to Be Created

With the Donghae Line high-speed railway connecting Pohang and Samcheok set to open at the end of this month, Pohang City has been selected in a proposal contest for a project utilizing idle railway land, raising expectations that the parking shortage at Pohang Station will be alleviated.

Aerial view of the railway idle land utilization project. Provided by Pohang City

On the 19th, the city announced that it had been selected in the ‘2024 Second Half Railway Idle Land Utilization Project’ proposal contest applied for with the Korea Rail Network Authority to solve the chronic parking shortage at Pohang Station.

Pohang Station is located on the outskirts, away from the downtown area, resulting in more users relying on private cars than public transportation. Various factors, including the underestimation of parking demand during the station’s planning, have combined to cause a persistent parking shortage.

Furthermore, with the Donghae Line high-speed railway opening at the end of this year, the number of users at Pohang Station is expected to increase further due to tourism content development and cooperative projects linking the Gyeongbuk and Gangwon regions.

With Pohang City’s selection in this contest, these difficulties are expected to be significantly resolved by the first half of 2026.

With this selection, the city plans to create a large-scale parking lot with more than 1,100 spaces by utilizing the idle land behind Pohang Station by the first half of 2026, and will open roads accessible from Daljeon Five-way Intersection and Iin Intersection, as well as repair existing roads.

Additionally, a pedestrian overpass directly connecting the parking lot to the station will be constructed to enhance user convenience.

Expanding the parking lot on the idle land is expected to bring various synergistic effects, such as solving the parking shortage, alleviating illegal parking issues, separating the flow of boarding and alighting vehicles from parked vehicles, and reducing traffic congestion near the station.

In particular, this project selection exempts the city from paying national land usage fees for 20 years, reducing financial burdens. The city plans to actively cooperate with local members of the National Assembly to secure national funding for the construction of the pedestrian overpass.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “We will focus all administrative capabilities on completing the project to resolve the long-standing parking shortage at Pohang Station,” and added, “With this parking expansion project, we expect to improve the traffic environment and increase tourist inflow, enabling Pohang to become a more competitive city.”

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