Jeong Myeong-geun, Mayor of Hwaseong, "Full Effort in Promoting 14 Railway Projects"

Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun Emphasizes Administrative Focus
on Major Railway Projects at Dongtan-Indeokwon Line Site

Jeong Myeong-geun, Mayor of Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, presided over the 'Hwaseong City Railway Project Inspection Meeting' at the Dongtan-Indeokwon Line Section 12 site office on the 13th and urged to focus administrative efforts on the successful promotion of major railway projects.

At the 'Hwaseong City Railway Project Inspection Meeting' held on the 13th at the site office of Section 12 of the Dongtan-Indeogwon Line, Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun is discussing key railway project issues with related officials. Photo by Hwaseong City

At the meeting, Mayor Jeong reviewed the progress of 14 railway projects, including six projects currently under design and construction and eight projects planned and conceived by the city, and received a report on the progress of the double-track electrified railway construction project of the Dongtan-Indeokwon Line being carried out by the Korea Rail Network Authority.

In the Hwaseong area, in March last year, the metropolitan wide-area express railway (GTX) Line A section from Suseo to Dongtan, connecting Dongtan and Suseo in 21 minutes, was opened. In October last year, the Shinansan Line extension project to Hyangnam passed the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's investment review, completing all administrative procedures before design. In November of the same year, the opening of the Seohae Line section from Hongseong to Seohwaseong marked the beginning of the railway era in the western Hwaseong region.

For the GTX-A line, the daily ridership on the Suseo-Dongtan section was about 8,000 at the initial opening but steadily increased to over 13,000 in December last year. The city expects that once the entire line is opened next year, citizens' transportation convenience will greatly improve as they will be able to travel directly to Seoul Station and the northern Gyeongbu area.

This year, the city anticipates accelerated development of the regional railway network, including the GTX-C Byeongjeom extension related inter-agency consignment agreements, preliminary feasibility studies for the Bundang Line extension, and the start of design for the Shinansan Line Hyangnam extension. In particular, the city plans to strengthen communication and cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, other government departments, the National Assembly, Gyeonggi Province, and related local governments to ensure that major projects such as the Southern Gyeonggi East-West Transversal Line and Southern Gyeonggi Metropolitan Railway are included in the '5th National Railway Network Construction Plan' to be announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the second half of the year.

Mayor Jeong said, "Railways are core infrastructure that can raise urban competitiveness to the next level and enable sustainable development, as well as an investment in the future," and urged, "Please thoroughly prepare major administrative procedures and actively cooperate with related agencies to expedite the projects."