Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is taking a commemorative photo with officials while attending the residents' petition on-site meeting last February.
The full-scale construction of the ‘Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway,’ which gained attention as Gyeonggi Province’s first citizen petition, is becoming a reality.
On the 28th, Gyeonggi Province announced that the Korea Rail Network Authority recently completed the selection and contracting of construction companies for all 10 sections of the ‘Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway construction’ project and is about to commence construction.
The Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway construction project involves building a 37.1 km railway line with 18 stations, stretching from Indeogwon Station in Anyang City to Dongtan Station in Hwaseong City. Last August, the Ministry of Economy and Finance decided to conduct a ‘reassessment of project plan adequacy’ due to increased project costs, which halted progress on the 10 sections.
In response, residents from five areas?Suwon, Hwaseong, Anyang, Uiwang, and Yongin?submitted a citizen petition to Gyeonggi Province in January this year titled ‘No delay in Dongin Line construction, a long-cherished wish of residents from five cities waiting 20 years,’ requesting a swift completion of the project plan reassessment and commencement of construction on all 10 sections within the year.
The petition surpassed 10,000 signatures in February, becoming the first citizen petition since the introduction of the citizen petition system in 2019 to meet the governor’s response criteria.
Accordingly, on February 28, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon visited the construction site of Section 1 of the Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway in Poil-dong, Uiwang City, and promised, “We will jointly appeal to the basic local governments, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Korea Development Institute (KDI) to complete the project plan reassessment as soon as possible and to start construction promptly.”
Since then, Gyeonggi Province has repeatedly visited government ministries and the project executor, Korea Rail Network Authority, actively explaining the severe traffic congestion in the area and the urgent need to advance the project.
Additionally, a working-level consultative body was formed with the five regions?Suwon, Hwaseong, Anyang, Uiwang, and Yongin?through which the Dongin Line passes, establishing a cooperative system among related organizations such as the National Assembly and Korea Rail Network Authority, and exploring ways to expedite construction across all sections.
As a result of these efforts, in July, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held a Financial Project Evaluation Committee meeting and completed the ‘reassessment review of project plan adequacy’ for the Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway construction project. Subsequently, procedures such as negotiating the total project cost and issuing construction orders for the 10 sections proceeded, culminating in the selection of construction companies.
Once completed, the Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway construction project is expected to reduce travel time from Indeogwon in Anyang to Dongtan in Hwaseong to about 45 minutes, enhancing transportation convenience for local residents and promoting regional development.
Governor Kim Dong-yeon stated, “The opening of the Indeogwon~Dongtan double-track railway is expected to play a significant role in improving transportation convenience in the southern Gyeonggi region,” adding, “I am proud to fulfill the promise made through Gyeonggi’s first citizen petition by realizing the commencement of construction across all sections. Moving forward, to reduce commuting time by one hour for residents, we will continue efforts to expand the railway network within the province, including not only the Dongin Line but also the KTX SRT northern Gyeonggi extension, GTX, and metropolitan rail projects.”
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