Gwangyang City Requests KTX Gwangyang Station Stop on Gyeongjeon Line

Visit to Ministry of Land and Transport and Korea Railroad Corporation, Request for KTX Stop at Gwangyang Station on Suncheon~Bujeon (Busan) Route

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Joo Soon-seon, former mayor of Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, announced that on September 30th, he visited the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Railroad Corporation to request the KTX (EMU-260) to stop at Gwangyang Station on the Gyeongjeon Line.

The former mayor stated, “Once the Gwangyang~Jinju electrification project is completed, a high-speed rail operation base will be established in Gwangyang City,” and emphasized, “It is essential for the KTX (EMU-260) to stop in Gwangyang, an industrial and economic hub with POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks and Gwangyang Port.”

He further proposed, “To ensure that the Gyeongjeon Line KTX operates equally between regions (Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do), the number of operations between Suncheon and Bujeon should be increased to match the Jinju~Bujeon (Busan) frequency, and a new route operating Bujeon~Jinju~Gwangyang~Yeosu should be established to respond to the growing industrial and tourism demand in the Gwangyang Bay area.”

The ‘Gwangyang~Jinju Electrification Project’ is a project to electrify the 51.5 km section from Gwangyang to Jinju, completing an integrated electric railway transport system along the entire Suncheon~Gwangyang~Jinju~Bujeon route, scheduled for completion in April next year.

Korea Railroad Corporation will establish the route (stopping station) plan in the first half of next year, finalize it after approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The high-speed rail between Suncheon and Bujeon is expected to operate in the second half of next year, reducing travel time from Suncheon to Bujeon (Busan) to 1 hour and 32 minutes.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr