Gwangju-si and Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, Collaborate on 'Gyeonggang Line Extension'

Adoption of Proposal Reflecting the '5th National Railroad Network Construction'
Mayors Bang Jehwan and Lee Sangil Sign Agreement to Extend 'Namsa~Samdong Station'

Gwangju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 18th that "it has decided to jointly respond through mutual support and cooperation with Yongin City to ensure that the extension project of the Gyeonggang Line is included as a new project in the 5th National Railroad Network Construction Plan."

Gwangju City and Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province signed a joint cooperation agreement on the 16th at Yongin City Hall to efficiently promote the extension railway project of the Gyeonggang Line.
[Photo by Gwangju City]

The two local governments signed a joint cooperation agreement and agreed to form a working-level council for the Gyeonggang Line extension project to provide administrative support, devise ways to improve economic feasibility, and jointly propose to central government agencies such as Gyeonggi Province and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

They also adopted a joint proposal urging the inclusion of the Gyeonggang Line extension project in the 5th National Railroad Network Construction Plan and the early establishment of the construction plan.

They plan to issue a service order and form the working-level council within the first half of this year (January to June) to jointly respond through mutual support and cooperation.

In particular, following the government's designation of 7.1 million square meters in Namsa-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin City as a candidate site for a large-scale national industrial complex for system semiconductors, they emphasize that expanding the railway network connecting the two regions is essential.

Bang Se-hwan, Mayor of Gwangju City, said, "We will thoroughly prepare to have the Gyeonggang Line extension project promoted as a national plan to alleviate traffic congestion in the new towns of Taejeon, Gosan, and Yangbeol in Gwangju City and to expand the metropolitan transportation infrastructure in the southeastern metropolitan area."

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, emphasized, "To achieve global semiconductor competitiveness, expanding road and railway networks is essential, so the government must include the Gyeonggang Line extension in the 5th National Railroad Network Plan to support improvements in transportation infrastructure that maintain the semiconductor industry's technological lead."

Yongin City is promoting a plan to extend the Gyeonggang Line by branching off from Samdong Station in Gwangju City and extending it through Mohyeon, Idong, and Namsa in Cheoin-gu, Yongin City (40.2 km) to promote balanced development of the city through the expansion of the railway network in the Cheoin area.

The Gyeonggang Line is a route connecting Bundang-gu in Seongnam City, Gwangju City, Icheon City, and Yeoju City from west to east. In addition, to expand metropolitan transportation infrastructure, a railway project to extend the Gyeonggang Line connecting Gwangju and Yongin in the southeastern metropolitan area is planned.

In the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan announced in July 2021, the project was deferred as an additional review project.