Changwon Special City Secures Momentum for Changwon-Suseo High-Speed Railway Gyeongjeon Line Project

Focusing Administrative Efforts for Changwon Operation, Leading Persuasion with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Gyeongnam Changwon Special City Hall. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Song Jong-gu] Conditions for operating the Gyeongjeon Line high-speed railway between Changwon, Gyeongnam, and Suseo Station in Seoul have been established, drawing attention to the results.

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is actively promoting the operation of the Suseo-originating high-speed railway on the Gyeongjeon Line to enhance convenience for high-speed rail users and support smooth economic activities of local businesses.

Although there had been difficulties in promoting the operation of the Suseo-originating high-speed railway due to a decrease in passengers, the number of passengers on the Gyeongjeon Line KTX reached 3.8 million in 2022, recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels, thereby securing momentum for promotion.

In Changwon, the Gyeongjeon Line KTX departing from Seoul Station operates 34 times daily in both directions, but the SRT departing from Suseo Station does not operate. Therefore, to travel from Changwon to the Gangnam area of Seoul, passengers must transfer at Dongdaegu Station or get off at Seoul Station and use city transportation, causing inconvenience. The Dongdaegu?Changwon section lacks a dedicated high-speed line, so even when using KTX, trains run at slower speeds, and an additional average of 23 minutes is required for SRT transfers, further increasing the regional disparity in high-speed rail services.

Changwon Special City has continuously requested the expansion of high-speed rail services, but only the number of KTX operations has been increased twice (from 28 to 34), and the Suseo-originating high-speed railway has yet to operate.

Hong Nam-pyo, mayor of Changwon Special City, selected the introduction of the Changwon?Suseo SRT as a key pledge upon taking office in the 8th term and has consistently conveyed the position that “operating the Suseo-originating high-speed railway is essential to expand the human and material flow of Changwon City” whenever visiting the National Assembly or government ministries. In October last year, during Minister Won Hee-ryong’s visit to Changwon, he also received a promise to “make efforts to operate the SRT in Changwon.”

Recently, through efforts by Gyeongsangnam-do Province, the “Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport?Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam Regional Development Cooperation Meeting” included “operation of the Suseo-originating high-speed train on the Gyeongjeon Line” as a task for super-regional balanced growth. As discussions on this have become active in the National Assembly, Changwon City is taking the lead in preparing promotion plans for early operation and expansion of services, negotiating with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Assembly, and railway operators Korea Railroad Corporation and SR, and actively persuading them.

Changwon City proposed the following plans for operating the Suseo-originating high-speed railway in Changwon to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Railroad Corporation, and SR: ▲deploying some of the Gyeongbu Line SRT trains to the Gyeongjeon Line ▲establishing a new Suseo-originating KTX by lifting the exclusive operation rights of high-speed rail operators at stations to maintain railway competition ▲in the short term, due to vehicle and track capacity shortages, only minimal service is possible, but with future expansion of vehicles and tracks such as additional high-speed train purchases and double-tracking between Pyeongtaek and Osong, increasing the number of operations to provide adequate service.

Mayor Hong said, “To resolve the imbalance in high-speed rail services and support smooth economic activities of local companies with frequent exchanges with the metropolitan area, operating the Suseo-originating high-speed railway in Changwon is essential, and we will concentrate all administrative efforts to improve transportation services for citizens.”