[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The Metropolitan Transport Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 6th that the '4th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transport Implementation Plan,' which includes wide-area transport network plans by region for the next five years, has been finalized after review by the Metropolitan Transport Committee.
This plan includes wide-area transport facilities and traffic status by region, regional promotion strategies based on future condition assessments, and plans for the construction and operation of wide-area transport networks.
First, in the Seoul Capital Area, wide-area transport infrastructure such as wide-area express railways and wide-area BRT will be expanded, and the semi-public operation system for wide-area buses will be extended to strengthen the public nature of public transportation. New wide-area transport facility projects such as the extension of Incheon Line 2 to Goyang, Dongbu BTX, and Seobu BTX have been selected.
In the Busan-Ulsan area, a wide-area transport network centered on public transportation will be expanded. The Busan?Yangsan?Ulsan wide-area railway will be newly promoted, and connections within the region will be strengthened through the expansion of wide-area roads and wide-area BRT. Expansion of wide-area transfer discounts and implementation of integrated fare systems will also be pursued.
In the Daegu area, improvements in traffic congestion sections will be promoted through the expansion of wide-area railways, strengthening of public transportation transfer and linkage systems, and the establishment and expansion of wide-area roads. The establishment of Daegu-Gyeongbuk wide-area transport governance and the introduction of a dedicated wide-area transport monitoring agency will also be considered.
In Daejeon, new projects such as the Daejeon?Sejong wide-area railway, Daejeon Daedeok Special Zone?Sejong Geumnam-myeon wide-area road, Sejong?Gongju and Sejong?Cheongju wide-area BRT, as well as the stable promotion of existing Chungcheong area wide-area railway projects, will be carried out.
A total of 122 wide-area transport facilities are reflected in this implementation plan, including 41 wide-area railways, 25 wide-area roads, 12 wide-area BRTs, and 44 transfer centers.
About 7.1 trillion KRW will be invested in wide-area transport facility projects by 2025. This represents an increase of more than 3 trillion KRW in national funding compared to the 3rd Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transport Implementation Plan.
Along with this, tasks for improving wide-area transport operation and institutional reforms will also be promoted.
The semi-public operation system for wide-area buses will be expanded to local metropolitan areas, and low-cost, high-efficiency S-BRTs such as those in Gyeyang-Daejang District and Changwon will be established. BTX using movable central dividers will also be introduced on major arterial roads such as Dongbu BTX and Seobu BTX.
Transfer centers will be established at major railway stations such as GTX-A to enhance convenience. A user-centered transfer system will be prepared, including the establishment of a horizontal transfer system at Cheongnyangni Station for GTX-B and C.
Lee Yunsang, Director of the Metropolitan Transport Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "With the expansion of wide-area transport facilities and improvement of the operation system according to the 4th Wide-area Transport Implementation Plan, wide-area transport issues such as commuting time within metropolitan areas will be greatly alleviated," adding, "It is also expected to contribute to national balanced development."
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