[30-Minute Metropolitan Area] ① GTX Suseo~Dongtan Opens in March... Commute Time Reduced to One-Quarter

On the 5th, the first GTX-A train was unveiled at the Dongtan Station platform in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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The government will open the Suseo~Dongtan section of the metropolitan area express railroad (GTX) Line A in March. The Unjeong~Seoul Station section of the same line will also open within the year. By 2028, the entire Line A will be in operation. This marks the first GTX line to open in 13 years since GTX appeared in the 2nd National Railroad Network Plan.

The congestion problem of the representative "hell train," the Gimpo Gold Line, will also be resolved by adding more trains and deploying additional metropolitan buses. The proportion of double-decker electric buses among metropolitan area buses will also increase to simultaneously respond to transportation demand and climate change. In the long term, "spatial innovation" will be achieved through urban space restructuring by undergrounding railroads and roads.

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a "Public Discussion on Livelihood with the People" on the 25th under the theme "30-minute commuting era, resolving transportation disparities," stating, "We will open the full-scale GTX era starting this year." He added, "Once Lines A through F are all completed, it will be possible to travel from the metropolitan area to downtown Seoul within 30 minutes," promising, "We will return to you the time spent with your family and leisure time reduced by shorter commuting hours." President Yoon, who did not attend the livelihood discussion on the 22nd, resumed his livelihood activities after resolving conflicts between the ruling party and the government.

He emphasized, "With GTX expanding living zones, a single super-connected economic metropolitan living zone will be formed from the metropolitan area to Chungcheong and Gangwon," adding, "Not only will commuting convenience improve, but new investments and jobs will be created. Above all, domestic demand will be activated in this process, and the economic landscape of the Republic of Korea will change significantly." According to quantitative analysis by the Korea Transport Institute, GTX is estimated to have a direct employment effect of 500,000 people and a direct production inducement effect of 75 trillion won.

Among the "three major innovation strategies in the transportation sector" announced by the government that day, the core is the opening of GTX Line A. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is currently planning a total of six lines, GTX A through F. Among these, Lines A, B, and C will open sequentially to shorten travel times for the metropolitan population.

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Starting in March, with the opening of the Suseo~Dongtan section of Line A, the commuting time, which previously took 75 to 79 minutes, will be compressed to 19 minutes. When the Unjeong~Seoul Station section operates within the year, travel time will be reduced from up to 70 minutes to 20 minutes.

Baek Won-guk, MOLIT’s 2nd Vice Minister, told reporters at MOLIT the day before, "The opening of the entire Line A is delayed due to the Yeongdong-daero complex development project at Samsung Station in Seoul," explaining, "We will operate the sections separately for now, then in 2026, trains will pass through Samsung Station without stopping, and when the development project finishes in 2028, the entire line will be in operation."

With the opening imminent, connections between each station on Line A and bus routes are being coordinated, and decisions on benefits such as 10% weekend fare discounts and transfer discounts will be made soon. MOLIT expects that once Line A is fully opened, 270,000 people will use this line daily.

Line B will open in 2030. This line starts from Incheon National University Entrance, passing through Seoul Station and Cheongnyangni Station, and connects to Maseok. Starting with the Yongsan~Sangbong Station section, the entire Line B will begin construction within the first half of this year. Vice Minister Baek explained, "Once Line B is completed, travel time from Incheon to Seoul Station, which used to take 80 to 95 minutes, will be shortened to 30 minutes," adding, "The Maseok~Cheongnyangni section, which took 45 to 75 minutes, will also be reduced to 23 minutes."

Line C, connecting Deokjeong to Suwon, is scheduled to start construction early this year and open in 2028. When Line C is connected, it is expected to take 29 minutes from Deokjeong to Samsung Station and 27 minutes from Suwon to Samsung Station.

On the 5th, the first GTX-A train was unveiled at the Dongtan Station platform in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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MOLIT also presented a "Phase 2 GTX" plan to extend Lines A, B, and C and establish new Lines D, E, and F. Line A is planned to be extended from Dongtan to Pyeongtaek, Line B from Maseok to Chuncheon, and Line C from Deokjeong to Dongducheon and from Suwon to Asan. Vice Minister Baek said, "Local governments have expressed willingness to bear costs for Lines A and C, and discussions are ongoing with local governments for Line B," adding, "If local governments participate, construction can start earlier, and the opening can be more than three years faster than usual procedures."

In the long term, new Lines D, E, and F will be established: Line D connecting to Wonju, Line E connecting Incheon Airport to Deokso, and Line F, a circular line passing through Uijeongbu, Bucheon, Suwon, and Deokso. These entire lines will be reflected in the 5th National Railroad Network Plan. The opening is planned in phases, with the first phase targeted for 2035.

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The government will introduce metropolitan express rail (x-TX) similar to the metropolitan area in provinces as well. This aims to build regional mega-cities with "1-hour living zones" transportation. The "x" represents an unknown variable; an appropriate alphabet can be inserted depending on the region.

MOLIT designated CTX (tentative name) as the pilot project for x-TX. The "C" is taken from the first letter of "Chung" in Chungcheongbuk-do. CTX will run through Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungcheongbuk-do. Once this line is established, it will take 15 minutes from the Government Sejong Complex to the Government Daejeon Complex, and 13 minutes from Osong Station to the Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Office.

Vice Minister Baek said, "We will select and promote projects with private investment intentions as pilot projects," explaining, "Private railways require private investors to invest more than 50% of the project cost and bear 100% of operating costs, resulting in less expenditure for local governments and simpler procedures." Accordingly, he stated, "We will improve the CTX project through private investment and government support."

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On this day, MOLIT presented innovation projects including metropolitan bus introduction, congestion mitigation measures for the Gimpo Gold Line, new town transportation improvements, and railroad undergrounding projects, in addition to GTX-related projects. The total budget for the three major projects is set at 134 trillion won. Vice Minister Baek stated, "By project, GTX requires 38.6 trillion won, regional metropolitan express rail 18.4 trillion won, new town transportation improvements 11.4 trillion won, and railroad undergrounding 65.2 trillion won."

The largest portion of funding to cover this budget is private investment (75.2 trillion won), followed by national funds (30 trillion won), local funds (13.6 trillion won), new town development costs (9.2 trillion won), and public institutions (5.6 trillion won).

Vice Minister Baek explained, "New town development costs are already reserved with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)," adding, "Railroad undergrounding is a project carried out with the benefits of upper-level development, and 50 trillion won out of the 75.2 trillion won private investment corresponds to this." However, he noted, "The issue lies with the budgets for GTX and regional metropolitan express rail, and how the national government, local governments, and private sector share these costs is crucial," adding, "The progress of the project depends on how much private capital enters the national railroad network plan and GTX establishment."

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