"Essential for Convenience of 1.5 Million Residents and Semiconductor Belt"
"Feasibility Confirmed for Gyeonggi Gwangju Station - Namsa and Idong-eup"
Gyeonggi Province's Yongin City and Gwangju City have jointly proposed to the government the southern extension of the Gyeonggang Line subway in Yongin. This is because the cost-benefit ratio (B/C) meets the requirements for project promotion, and it is also necessary for the government's semiconductor mega cluster development.
Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, and Bang Se-hwan, Mayor of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, are holding a joint petition for the inclusion of the extension project of the Gyeonggang Line in the national railway network construction plan. [Photo by Yongin City]
Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, and Bang Se-hwan, Mayor of Gwangju, met at Gwangju City Hall on the morning of the 22nd and signed a joint proposal containing these details. The two mayors plan to submit the proposal to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
In the proposal, the two mayors stated, "The construction of the 'Gyeonggang Line extension general railway' is urgently needed to resolve the transportation inconvenience of 1.5 million citizens of Yongin and Gwangju." They emphasized, "The Gyeonggang Line extension railway is an essential route for the successful establishment of the Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex, the semiconductor-specialized new town in Idong Public Housing District, and the Gyeonggi Gwangju Station area development project."
They added, "The Gyeonggang Line extension is a project to lay the foundation for balanced regional development through organic connections within the national railway network," and "It is also a necessary route to complement the national policy project, the Metropolitan Area Express Railway (GTX)."
The Gyeonggang Line is a trunk railway network connecting Wolgot-dong, Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangneung Station, Gangneung City, Gangwon Province. Currently, the line is divided into the Seongnam~Yeoju and Wonju~Gangneung sections. The Gyeonggang Line extension promoted by Yongin City and Gwangju City is a new 37.9 km line branching from the Seongnam (Pangyo Station)~Yeoju (Yeoju Station) section to connect Idong and Namsa-eup in Cheoin-gu, Yongin.
Regarding this, Yongin City explained that the cost-benefit ratio (B/C) was 0.92 when promoted as a general double-track railway based on the service survey results for the Gyeonggang Line extension. This significantly exceeds the minimum standard of 0.7 generally required to reflect a new railway line in the national railway network construction plan.
The two cities especially agreed to designate 'Gyeonggi Gwangju Station' as the branching station because the joint route review service showed that the B/C of branching at Gyeonggi Gwangju Station was higher than the originally planned Samdong Station branching.
Mayor Lee emphasized, "Since Samsung Electronics has increased its investment in the Yongin Idong and Namsa-eup System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex from the initial 300 trillion won to 360 trillion won and decided to expand the semiconductor production lines (Fab) from 5 to 6, the Gyeonggang Line extension must be urgently promoted for the successful establishment of the semiconductor belt and the convenience of residents' lives."
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