Gwangju City to Hold Public Hearing on Gwangcheon-Sangmu Urban Railway Line on 24th

Full-scale Launch of Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line Connecting the Gwangcheon Area
7.78 km Route Traversing from Sangmu Station through Gwangcheon Area to Gwangju Station
Application for Urban Railway Network Plan Approval to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in February

Gwangju City announced on the 22nd that it will hold a public hearing on the "Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line Urban Railway Construction Plan" at 2 p.m. on the 24th in the main auditorium of the Gwangju Transportation Corporation.

The urban railway network construction plan is a statutory plan established every 10 years (2026-2035) in accordance with the Urban Railway Act. This public hearing will proceed with a presentation of the "Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line Urban Railway Construction Plan (draft)" by the consulting firm, followed by an expert panel discussion and a Q&A session with the audience.

On September 11 last year, the city announced the "Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line" urban railway as a major special transportation measure to alleviate traffic congestion in the Gwangcheon area and to realize a "Daejabo (public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian-oriented) city," aiming for rapid, accurate, and high-capacity transportation.

The final route reflected in the urban railway network construction plan, the "Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line," is a 7.78 km east-west line that starts at Sangmu Station?a transfer station for Urban Railway Lines 1 and 2 and the Gwangju-Naju metropolitan railway?passes through the Gwangcheon area and Sinan-dong, and connects to the rear entrance of Gwangju Station.

With Urban Railway Line 2 being changed from the existing inner circular line (L=27.4 km) to an expanded outer circular line (L=41.7 km), there have been increasing demands for a new urban railway route passing through the Gwangju General Bus Terminal and Gwangju Kia Champions Field.

Accordingly, the city recently planned a route to resolve transportation issues in connection with large-scale development plans around the Gwangcheon area and to pass through high-demand locations such as the Gwangju General Bus Terminal and Gwangju Kia Champions Field.

The total project cost for the Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line is estimated at approximately 700 billion KRW. Sixty percent will be funded by the national government under the statutory urban railway subsidy rate, and the remaining city budget will be covered using public contribution funds from pre-negotiations for the former Jeonbang and Ilsin Textile sites and the Gwangcheon Terminal, without additional financial input from Gwangju City.

Unlike Urban Railway Line 2, the construction method will utilize an underground tunnel approach to minimize citizen inconvenience such as traffic issues during the construction period.

Meanwhile, Gwangju City plans to reflect as much citizen input as possible through this public hearing and a public viewing period until the end of January. In February, after collecting opinions from the Gwangju City Council, the final plan will be confirmed and an approval request will be submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport by the end of February.

The city aims to complete all administrative procedures, including approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and a preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as soon as possible in the first half of this year, focusing its administrative capacity to ensure completion by 2032.

Mayor Kang Gijung emphasized, "We will do our best to reflect the opinions of citizens and experts as much as possible so that the Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line can be constructed at the direction and speed desired by the citizens," adding, "In addition to the Gwangcheon-Sangmu Line, we will also push forward with the construction of Urban Railway Line 2 without delay to expedite the realization of a Daejabo city."